Whipple, Tamishia V

Tenure Summary

Tamishia V. Whipple's career in the Georgia Department of Corrections runs from 2015, when her position record lists her as a corrections officer, through promotion to correctional sergeant (2018), lieutenant (2019–2020), captain (2021), and correctional unit manager (2022–2023). One unit-manager record places her at Hancock State Prison on November 22, 2023. She held the Deputy Warden role at Washington State Prison in 2024 and 2025, and has held Deputy Warden of Security at Washington State Prison from July 16, 2026; a further Deputy Warden record at the same facility is dated August 27, 2026. Her status is active, with no adverse status source listed.

Georgia Prisoners' Speak attributes 15 deaths to her leadership tenures, all of them at Washington State Prison. No lawsuit naming her as a defendant appears in the records reviewed.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — Correctional Unit Manager (record dated November 22, 2023). No deaths are attributed to this posting in the records.

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden (2024–2025). Every one of the 15 deaths attributed to Whipple's leadership tenure occurred at this facility while she held the Deputy Warden role. The registry records are:

• Jimmy Lee Reed died April 2, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. He was 66.
• Jacob Cole Henson died April 23, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Use of Force. He was 31.
• Johntavis Jermaine Kellom died May 2, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Overdose. He was 36.
• Torrey Wayne Forrester died July 1, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Natural/Medical. He was 41.
• Devonte Tiger Williams died August 9, 2024, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Homicide. He was 26. GPS intel events record that he died from multiple sharp force injuries to the torso, head and neck.
• Dontavious Carter died January 7, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Homicide.
• Robert Washington died January 14, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Natural/Medical.
• Yoncey Jallah died April 23, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Natural/Medical. He was 49.
• Lamontez Winkfield died May 11, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Homicide. He was 22.
• Michael Lareco Daniel died June 20, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Homicide. He was 44.
• William Earl Long died July 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Accident. He was 52.
• Darrin Gresham died August 8, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. He was 60.
• Wayne Krier died November 5, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Natural/Medical. He was 77.
• Benjamin Horne died December 15, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Overdose. He was 51.
• Taylor Allen Howard died December 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the listed cause is Natural/Medical. He was 66.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a fight at a hospital while transporting him for medical treatment. The 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report finding that Georgia prison officials were "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, gang-run black markets, drug use and sexual abuse fell within this posting, as did a January 1, 2025 legislative allocation of more than $600 million to GDC for staffing, salaries and maintenance. GA intel events logged a staffing collapse at Dooly and Washington State Prisons (November 25, 2025), with housing units left without an officer for hours or entire shifts; systemic gang activity, drone contraband drops and alleged staff complicity at Washington State Prison (January 2025); blue-water contamination with inmate reports of rashes and stomach illness (January 2025); repeated severe beatings of an incarcerated man identified as Jamie Shahan, who was placed on life support with brain injuries (January–February 2025); a murder documented on contraband-phone video with GDC accused of downplaying violence (recorded under the name Dontavis Carter); and a meth network allegedly run from the facility by Jeffery White (September 2024).

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (from July 16, 2026). Intel reports dated July 16–17, 2026, record allegations from monitored communications and family reports: an inter-gang assault causing severe head injury and brain death, with a family member stating the person died after life support was withdrawn following a violent incident involving another incarcerated person previously flagged to officials; a fatal assault in which the surveillance system allegedly failed to record the incident; a stabbing during a facility-wide lockdown begun early that year, with alleged unequal commissary limits by group affiliation and denial of fans; a claim that at least seven people died after a January 2026 melee; a statewide lockdown at Washington, Dooly, Macon, Smith and Wilcox linked to a Bloods conflict; a stabbing death in administrative segregation involving two gang members; and Security Threat Groups allegedly controlling housing buildings and paying for filmed assaults. Earlier-dated reports reaching back to 2025 describe gang fights, several stabbings, a fatality after a recreational sports game, a confiscated knife, and an unreported killing. All are allegations attributed to their sources, not established findings.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — report on the fatal shooting of Jacob Cole Henson by a GDC officer during hospital transport
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 findings report on Georgia prisons
• Georgia Prisoners' Speak death registry — 15 deaths attributed to Washington State Prison during Whipple's leadership tenure
• GPS intel reports — monitored communications and family accounts at Washington State Prison, 2026
• GPS intel events — incidents and reports at Washington State Prison, 2024–2025

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.