Whipple, Tamishia V

Tenure Summary

Tamishia V. Whipple entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in 2015, and state salary records trace a steady climb: correctional officer 2 (2016–2017), sergeant (2018), lieutenant (2019–2020), captain (2021), and correctional unit manager (2022–2023). On November 22, 2023 she is listed as Correctional Unit Manager at Hancock State Prison. From 2024 through 2025 she held the title Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison, and from July 16, 2026 she has served as Deputy Warden of Security there. Her status is active.

GPS's death registry attributes 16 deaths to her leadership tenures, all 16 at Washington State Prison: five listed as Natural/Medical, four Homicide, two Overdose, three Unknown/Pending, one Accident and one Use of Force. No lawsuits naming her as a defendant appear in the records reviewed. Her deputy tenure at Washington overlapped the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 report finding that Georgia prison officials were "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse in state lockups.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — Correctional Unit Manager (listed November 22, 2023). The registry attributes no deaths to this posting; all 16 recorded deaths fall at Washington State Prison.

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden (2024–2025). Fifteen of the 16 deaths occurred while she held this title. Jimmy Lee Reed died April 2, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 66. Jacob Cole Henson died April 23, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the registry lists Use of Force, age 31 — the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported (January 21, 2025) that a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a fight at a hospital while transporting him for medical treatment. Johntavis Jermaine Kellom died May 2, 2024, at Washington State Prison (Overdose, age 36). Torrey Wayne Forrester died July 1, 2024, at Washington State Prison (Natural/Medical, age 41). Devonte Tiger Williams died August 9, 2024, at Washington State Prison (Homicide, age 26); an event record states he died from multiple sharp force injuries to the torso, head and neck. Dontavious Carter died January 7, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Homicide); a facility event record that day describes a prisoner found dead in a pool of blood. Robert Washington died January 14, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Natural/Medical). Yoncey Jallah died April 23, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Natural/Medical, age 49). Lamontez Winkfield died May 11, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Homicide, age 22). Michael Lareco Daniel died June 20, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Homicide, age 44). William Earl Long died July 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Accident, age 52). Darrin Gresham died August 8, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Unknown/Pending, age 60). Wayne Krier died November 5, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Natural/Medical, age 77). Benjamin Horne died December 15, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Overdose, age 51). Taylor Allen Howard died December 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison (Natural/Medical, age 66).

Around these deaths the records describe broader conditions. Event records dated January 2025 report systemic violence, gang activity and contraband smuggling via drone drops at Washington State Prison, with alleged staff complicity, and blue-water contamination with prisoners reporting rashes and stomach issues. Records from January and February 2025 describe prisoner Jamie Shahan being beaten multiple times and placed on life support with severe brain injuries. A September 2024 record describes a prisoner, Jeffery White, running a methamphetamine network from the prison. A November 25, 2025 record describes housing units at Dooly and Washington State Prisons with no officer present for hours or entire shifts. Also in this window, Commissioner Tyrone Oliver announced Tamara Grier's appointment as Deputy Warden of Security at Washington (November 16, 2025), and event records state Veronica Stewart was promoted to Warden in June 2024.

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (from July 16, 2026). Joseph Earl Adams died August 30, 2026, at Washington State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 58. Allegations logged in July 2026 — when she held this role — include a family report that a prisoner died after life support was withdrawn following a violent incident with another prisoner previously flagged to officials; internal intelligence describing an inter-gang assault causing a severe head injury and brain death, with a surveillance system that allegedly failed to record it; a stabbing during a facility-wide lockdown with alleged unequal commissary limits by group affiliation; a monitored conversation claiming at least seven people died after a January 2026 melee; a stabbing death in administrative segregation; and accounts of 2025 gang fights, a shower-dispute outbreak, a December 2025 fight and an alleged unreported 2025 murder. An October 1, 2026 report describes a tactical team operation at Macon State Prison with about 14 vans on site and a lockdown afterward.

Sources

• GPS death registry — 16 deaths at Washington State Prison during Whipple's leadership tenures
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — January 21, 2025 report on the fatal shooting of Jacob Cole Henson
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 civil rights investigation report on Georgia prisons
• Internal monitored communications and family reports (mce.gps.press) — July 2026 allegations
• Facility event records — Washington State Prison incidents, staffing, and appointment announcements

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 18, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.