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Whipple, Tamishia V
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 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 rose through the Georgia Department of Corrections ranks from a Correctional Officer in 2015 to Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison in 2024, a role she held through at least the end of 2025 per salary records. GPS records show that 23 deaths have been attributed to Washington State Prison during her tenure as Deputy Warden. No lawsuits naming Whipple as a defendant have been recorded in the GPS database. Her watch at the facility was marked by a January 2026 gang‑related riot that left four men dead, multiple homicides, and facility conditions that drew findings of systemic indifference from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and a governor‑commissioned consultant study, both of which overlapped with her leadership period.
What happened on their watch
Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden (January 2024–2025)
Whipple became Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison on January 1, 2024. Per GPS records, the 23 deaths attributed to the facility during her tenure began with a medical fatality in April 2024 and continued into February 2026. The deaths include at least five recorded homicides: Jacob Henson (age 31, multiple gunshot wounds; according to an Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation, a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a hospital transport); Devonte Williams (age 26, multiple sharp‑force injuries, also investigated by the AJC); Dontavious Carter (age not recorded, puncture wound to the heart); Michael Daniel (age 44, listed as “Homocide”); and the four men killed in connection with the January 2026 riot — Teddy Jackson (27), Ahmod Hatcher (23), Jimmy Trammell (42), and Silas Westbrook (42), who died after being transferred for medical treatment. Additional deaths from medical causes, a February 2026 double homicide in a restrictive‑housing unit, and a suicide by hanging that same month are included in the count.
The January 11‑12, 2026 riot — described by the GDC as a “gang‑affiliated disturbance” — erupted during visiting hours and resulted in three immediate inmate deaths, 13 injured prisoners, and one injured officer, according to news media and GDC statements. A fourth man, Silas Westbrook, died on January 17 after a “medical emergency” during transfer, per a WMAZ report. In February 2026, two additional men were killed in a fight inside a segregation unit, with GPS case notes asking, “Where were the officers while this fight was going on?”
During this period, multiple investigations and allegations highlighted broader systemic problems at the prison. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that consultants hired by Governor Brian Kemp found that maintenance failures allowed prisoners to fashion weapons, broken cell‑door locks permitted inmates to roam unchecked, and severe understaffing left areas unmonitored. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report, cited by the AJC and 41NBC, concluded that Georgia prison officials were “deliberately indifferent” to widespread violence, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse. A WGXA story documented a federal indictment charging inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez with running a drug network from Washington State Prison using contraband cellphones. Former inmates told 13WMAZ that gangs dominated daily life, with stabbings and robberies routine, and that officers often failed to intervene even in life‑threatening situations. A family member also reported that legal mail had been withheld beyond the time allowed by GDC policy.
No lawsuits have been filed against Whipple as a defendant, per the GPS database.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — investigations into Georgia prison homicides and systemic failures, including the deaths of Jacob Cole Henson and Devonte Tiger Williams, the January 2026 riot, and the governor‑commissioned consultant study
- 13WMAZ — reporting on the January 2026 riot, inmate deaths, charges against 12 inmates, and former inmate accounts of conditions at Washington State Prison
- WGXA — coverage of the federal drug‑trafficking indictment against an inmate at Washington State Prison and the GDC’s characterization of the riot as gang‑affiliated
- 11Alive — reporting on the gang‑affiliated disturbance and injuries
- 41NBC — coverage of the DOJ findings of “deliberate indifference” and the January 2026 disturbance
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation into violence, sexual abuse, and gangs in Georgia prisons
- GPS death records — 23 attributed deaths at Washington State Prison during Whipple’s tenure as Deputy Warden, including homicide causes and riot‑related fatalities
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
23 people died at facilities under Whipple, Tamishia V's leadership.
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