Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › White, Jermaine M
White, Jermaine M
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
Jermaine M. White began his Georgia Department of Corrections career as a correctional officer at Wilcox State Prison in 2002 and rose through supervisory roles — including lieutenant, deputy warden at Lee State Prison and Albany Transitional Center — before holding facility-leadership positions as superintendent and warden at Washington State Prison (2018–2019) and warden at Telfair State Prison (2020–2022). He later became Southwest Regional Director and Region Director. GPS records attribute 19 deaths to his tenure, all occurring while he was warden at Telfair State Prison. Six federal lawsuits naming White as a defendant have been filed, several during his Telfair warden years.What happened on their watch
Washington State Prison, 2018–2019 — Correctional Superintendent / Warden 1
No deaths are attributed to White’s tenure at Washington State Prison, per GPS records. During this period, the facility does not appear in the registered death or lawsuit data tied to his leadership role.
Telfair State Prison, 2020–2022 — Warden 1 / Warden 3
GPS records attribute 19 deaths to White’s time as warden at Telfair State Prison. The deaths spanned March 2020 through December 2022 and involved a range of causes. According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, several were homicides: Cedric Johnson died by strangulation in March 2020; Aldrich Cain and Marcus Pearson were killed by multiple stab wounds in April and May 2020; Louis Garcia-Palacio died from blunt impact head injuries in July 2020; and Juan Carlos Arguello-Revelles was stabbed in May 2021. A death in August 2021, William Hiram Lumpkin, was officially recorded as natural causes, but a witness account relayed to GPS alleged medical neglect — the doctor refused to see him that morning after he complained of chest pain. Multiple additional deaths are recorded under cause category 6 (often associated with homicide or undetermined violent circumstances) through 2022, including the December 2022 stabbing death of Xavier Warren, noted by the AJC.
Allegations of severe understaffing and security breakdowns at Telfair during White’s wardenship repeatedly surfaced in external reporting. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Telfair was missing 76% of its essential correctional officer workforce, leaving only 36 officers to supervise roughly 1,400 prisoners. The same outlet detailed that Sergeant Desiree Briley helped prisoner James Dylon NeSmith smuggle meth into the prison and distribute it for at least two years. A claim filed against the state, cited by the AJC, alleged that De’ahmoz Oshmic Floyd was stabbed in a dorm where no prison staff were present. The facility was also identified in federal drug-trafficking investigations, such as Operation Ghost Busted, which targeted ghost-face gangsters across South Georgia prisons. While White held the warden role at Telfair, three federal lawsuits were filed against him: Askew v. White (July 2020), Ross v. White (June 2022), and Jackson v. White (September 2022). All were terminated.
Regional Director roles, 2023–2025
No additional deaths are attributed to White’s later leadership posts in the GPS data. During this period he served as Southwest Regional Director and Region Director, overseeing multiple facilities across the region.
Litigation
- Askew v. White, 5:20-cv-00264 (GAMD, filed 2020-07-06, terminated 2020-07-22)
- Ross v. White, 3:22-cv-00066 (GASD, filed 2022-06-22, terminated 2022-10-12)
- Jackson v. White, 3:22-cv-00114 (GASD, filed 2022-09-13, terminated 2024-04-01)
- Riggs v. Stewart, 7:23-cv-00124 (GAMD, filed 2023-11-21, terminated 2023-12-12)
- Powell v. White, 3:23-cv-00096 (GASD, filed 2023-12-04, terminated 2024-03-28)
- Head v. White, 1:24-cv-04480 (GAND, filed 2024-10-03, pending)
Sources
- GPS records — death and facility-tenure data
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation and reporting on Telfair State Prison conditions, staffing, and contraband smuggling
- CourtListener — federal civil dockets (Askew v. White, Ross v. White, Jackson v. White, Riggs v. Stewart, Powell v. White, Head v. White)
- WGXA — reporting on drug trafficking from Washington State Prison (reference for context)
- Family witness reports — medical neglect allegation at Telfair (William Lumpkin)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| REGION DIRECTOR | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| Southwest Regional Director | 2023-07-01 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | 2023-01-01 → 2023-06-30 | |
| WARDEN 3 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | ALBANY TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | LEE STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| PROBATION/PAROLEOFFICER(WL) | LEE STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Lieutenant | 2009-01-01 → 2009-12-31 | |
| Correctional Officer | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2002-01-01 → 2002-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:24-cv-04480 | GAND | 2024-10-03 | pending |
| 3:23-cv-00096 | GASD | 2023-12-04 | terminated |
| 7:23-cv-00124 | GAMD | 2023-11-21 | terminated |
| 3:22-cv-00114 | GASD | 2022-09-13 | terminated |
| 3:22-cv-00066 | GASD | 2022-06-22 | terminated |
| 5:20-cv-00264 | GAMD | 2020-07-06 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
19 people died at facilities under White, Jermaine M's leadership.
Submit a correction
If you are the named individual or an authorized representative and dispute information on this page, submit details below. Substantiated corrections are applied promptly. Disputes that remain unresolved are flagged on the profile.