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Whipple, Tamishia V
Status: active
Profile written June 21, 2026
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Tamishia V. Whipple began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in 2015 and rose through the ranks—sergeant, lieutenant, captain, unit manager—before being appointed deputy warden at Washington State Prison in 2024, a position she continues to hold. GPS records attribute 26 inmate deaths to her tenure as a facility deputy at Washington State Prison between April 2024 and June 2026. The most lethal incident occurred on January 11, 2026, when a gang-affiliated riot killed four men and injured more than a dozen others, drawing national attention to the facility’s conditions. No lawsuits naming Whipple as a defendant are documented in GPS records.
What happened on their watch
All 26 deaths attributed to Whipple’s leadership occurred at Washington State Prison, where she has served as deputy warden since January 2024. The death count includes multiple homicides. On April 23, 2024, Jacob Cole Henson, 31, died from multiple gunshot wounds; according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Georgia prison homicides investigation, a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a fight at a hospital while transporting him for medical care. Another homicide, Dontavious Carter, died on January 7, 2025, from a puncture wound to the heart. Devonte Tiger Williams, 26, was killed by multiple sharp-force injuries in August 2024, per the AJC. Michael Lareco Daniel, 44, died of a homicide in June 2025, and GPS records note at least one other 2025 homicide.
The deadliest day came on January 11, 2026. Three men were killed in a riot that GDC characterized as gang-affiliated: Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27; Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23; and Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42. A fourth, Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook, 42, was stabbed during the riot and died six days later after being transferred to a medical facility; the DeKalb County medical examiner recorded the manner as homicide. GDC said the disturbance began around 1:25 p.m., involved multiple inmates, and was brought under control by 3 p.m. after staff deployed nonlethal weapons. Twelve inmates were later charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation.
In the months that followed, the prison remained on lockdown for at least 50 days, according to a family report in GPS records. Deaths continued: Courtney Davis and Isreal Moses Jones died on June 13 and June 11, 2026, respectively, under undetermined circumstances, with no reported signs of foul play according to GDC press statements cited by 41NBC; their autopsies were pending at the GBI Crime Lab and were being investigated by the GDC Office of Professional Standards.
Systemic deficiencies at Washington State Prison surfaced repeatedly in external investigations during Whipple’s tenure. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report described Georgia prison officials as “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked violence, drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse. A consultant study commissioned by Governor Brian Kemp found that maintenance issues allowed inmates to strip materials to make weapons, broken locks permitted easy cell escapes, and severe understaffing left areas unmonitored, with officers fearing retribution for enforcing rules. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that these findings were cited after the riot, alongside allegations from former inmates, relayed by 13WMAZ, that gangs dominated daily life, stabbings were routine, and staff rarely intervened in life-or-death situations. In 2026, federal prosecutors indicted inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez for directing a drug trafficking network from Washington State Prison using contraband cellphones, according to WGXA. Additionally, a family member alleged that privileged legal mail was withheld for over two weeks in violation of GDC policy.
Sources
- GPS records — individual death entries and tenure data for Washington State Prison (2024–2026)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides investigation; reporting on Jacob Henson, Devonte Williams, and systemic failures revealed by the governor’s consultant study
- 41NBC — reporting on the June 2026 deaths of Courtney Davis and Isreal Jones; DOJ findings of deliberate indifference
- 13WMAZ — reporting on the January 2026 riot, gang affiliation, and former inmate allegations of understaffing, gang control, and missing programs
- WGXA — reporting on the federal indictment of Luis Alfonso Ramirez for running a drug ring from the prison; family demand for answers after Jimmy Trammell’s death
- WFXL — reporting on charges against 12 inmates for felony murder and gang participation
- GDC press statements, as quoted in news reports, regarding the undetermined causes of Davis and Jones, and the gang-affiliated classification of the riot
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2022-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
26 people died at facilities under Whipple, Tamishia V's leadership.
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