Whipple, Tamishia V

Tenure Summary

Tamishia V. Whipple joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a correctional officer and rose steadily through the ranks — sergeant (2018), lieutenant (2019–2020), captain (2021), unit manager (2022–2023) — before being appointed Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison (WSP) in Davisboro, where GPS records show she has served since January 2024. During her tenure as Deputy Warden, GPS records attribute 23 deaths to the facility, including at least seven classified as homicides, one as suicide, one as natural/cardiac causes, and the remainder as other or unspecified causes. The deadliest single event was a January 2026 riot that killed four incarcerated people and injured at least twelve others. No lawsuits naming Whipple personally as a defendant appear in GPS records.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden, January 2024–present

Whipple held the Deputy Warden role at WSP across a period marked by recurring violent deaths and a catastrophic mass-casualty event. In 2024, GPS records attribute four deaths to the facility during her tenure: Devonte Tiger Williams, 26, died August 9, 2024, with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting his cause of death as multiple sharp force injuries to the torso, head, and neck; Jacob Cole Henson, 31, died April 23, 2024, with the AJC reporting his cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds — the AJC further alleges a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a fight at a hospital while transporting him for medical treatment; Johntavis Jermaine Kellom, 36, and Torrey Wayne Forrester, 41, also died at the facility in 2024, cause categories unspecified in GPS records. In early 2025, Dontavious Carter died January 7 from what GPS records list as homicide by puncture wound to the heart; Robert Washington died January 14 from cardiac arrest. Additional deaths through mid-2025 include Lamontez Winkfield, 22 (May); Michael Lareco Daniel, 44, listed as homicide (June); and William Earl Long, 52 (July), Darrin Gresham, 60 (August), Yoncey Jallah, 49 (April), and Wayne Krier, 77 (November), among others — several with unspecified cause categories per GPS records.

The most acute crisis came January 11, 2026, when a riot broke out during visitation hours at WSP. GPS records and reporting by the AJC, 13WMAZ, 41NBC, WGXA, and WFXL document that Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27, and Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23, were pronounced dead at the scene; Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42 — days from release after serving time for burglary — also died. A fourth victim, Silas Rodrigioeuz Westbrook, 42, was stabbed during the riot and died January 17, 2026, after being transferred to Metro Reentry Facility; a GPS user report alleges lack of proper medical care contributed to his death, sourcing 13WMAZ. The GDC confirmed the disturbance and characterized it as gang-affiliated, per reporting by the AJC, 11Alive, 13WMAZ, and WGXA, though that characterization remains an allegation. Twelve inmates were subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation, and unlawful acts of violence, per GDC confirmation reported by 13WMAZ, WFXL, and the AJC. The facility was placed on continuous lockdown following the riot; a GPS family report submitted February 22, 2026, alleges the lockdown had lasted approximately 50 days with no reopening.

In February 2026, GPS records attribute three additional deaths to WSP: two unidentified men (listed as "John Doe" and "John Doe 2") died February 17; a GPS user report alleges they "apparently killed each other in the hole" and questions whether officers were present. A third unidentified person died the same date by suicide by hanging, per GPS records. A separate GPS family report from May 2026 alleges that legal mail marked as privileged was delivered to WSP on April 25, 2026, but had not reached the recipient as of May 9 — a delay the report states exceeds the window permitted under GDC SOP 227.06 by approximately eight working days.

Contextual allegations from multiple outlets overlap Whipple's tenure. The AJC reports that buildings with maintenance failures allowed prisoners to strip materials for weapons, that locks were disabled enabling cell escapes, and that understaffing left movements unmonitored. Per 41NBC, a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report found Georgia prison officials "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse at state lockups, and that sophisticated gangs run prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons, and electronic devices. State Rep. Billy Hitchens, per 41NBC, alleged the prison system is not making meaningful progress on cell-door lock vulnerabilities. Former inmates, speaking to 13WMAZ, allege overcrowded dorms, chronic staffing shortages, little to no supervision, absent educational and vocational programming, and daily gang-driven violence at WSP specifically.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (Williams, Henson deaths); January 2026 riot reporting; April 2026 murder charges reporting
• 13WMAZ — January 2026 riot reporting; Westbrook death; murder charges; former-inmate accounts of conditions at WSP
• 41NBC — January 2026 riot reporting; DOJ 2024 findings on Georgia prisons
• WGXA — Trammell family statement; GDC gang-affiliation characterization
• 11Alive — GDC gang-affiliation characterization
• WFXL — Twelve inmates charged following January 2026 riot
• GPS records — Deaths-during-tenure table; cause categories; user/family reports GPS-DEATH-2026-91829, GPS-DEATH-2026-D4EC3, GPS-DEATH-2026-8B60E, GPS-DEATH-2026-C029F, GPS-DEATH-2026-A54A1, GPS-DEATH-2026-D5E57, GPS-DEATH-2026-CDEDE, GPS-DEATH-2026-99253; intel reports on legal mail delay and post-riot lockdown (submissions #76, #85)
• GDC confirmed intel events — January 2026 disturbance; April 2026 criminal charges; ongoing investigation status

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.