White, Jermaine M

Tenure Summary

Jermaine M. White's Georgia Department of Corrections career spans more than two decades, starting as a correctional officer at Wilcox State Prison in 2002 and moving through a lieutenant's post in 2009, a probation/parole officer assignment at Lee State Prison in 2015, and deputy warden roles at Lee and at the Albany Transitional Center in 2016–2017. He entered facility leadership as correctional superintendent at Washington State Prison in 2018, was promoted to Warden 1 there in 2019, and in 2020 moved to Telfair State Prison, where he served as Warden 1 (2020), Warden 3 (2021–2022) and Warden (Jan. 1–June 30, 2023). Since July 2023 he has held regional positions — Southwest Regional Director, then Region Director for the 2024 and 2025 salary years, with a further Region Director entry dated Aug. 27, 2026.

All 23 deaths attributed to his facility-leadership tenures occurred at Telfair State Prison; none are attributed to the Washington State Prison posting. He is named as a defendant in five federal lawsuits filed in Georgia between 2020 and 2023, all now terminated, with no payout amount recorded in any of them.

What happened on their watch

Washington State Prison — Correctional Superintendent (2018) and Warden 1 (2019). One state liability settlement is tied to this posting: a $7,000 payout to Maurice Carter dated Oct. 11, 2018, recorded in the Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger obtained through open records, at a time when White held the correctional superintendent role. No deaths are attributed to this facility in the records.

Telfair State Prison — Warden 1 (2020), Warden 3 (2021–2022), Warden (Jan. 1–June 30, 2023). The full attribution total of 23 deaths falls in this facility's leadership tenure under White, with decedents ranging in age from 25 to 74. Among those named in the records: Cedric La'Troy Johnson Sr., 35, whose March 2020 death is listed as strangulation; Aldrich Norval Cain, 26 (April 23, 2020, multiple stab wounds; an incident report notes four other prisoners involved); Marcus Derrelle Pearson Jr., 28 (May 29, 2020, multiple stab wounds); Luis Garcia Palacio, 41 (July 28, 2020, blunt impact injuries to the head). A cluster of deaths between Sept. 28 and Nov. 22, 2020 included Jerry Bolton, 69, Willie Ralph Wyatt, 49, Wright Greyhound Phoenix, 58, Wade Smith Jr., 41, Robert William Myers, 39, and John Anthony Pratt, 59.

Later deaths include Jeremy Williams, 29 (March 16, 2021); Juan Carlos Arguelles-Reveles, 37 (May 7, 2021, stabbing, with an incident report noting 11 other prisoners involved); William Hiram Lumpkin, 74 (Aug. 17, 2021); Montrell James Clayton, 25 (May 26, 2022); Xavier LaMar Warren, 32 (Dec. 28, 2022, stab wound to the torso, four other prisoners involved); Renel Janvier Whitfield, 31 (Jan. 25, 2023); Larry Adams, 53 (April 3, 2023); and De'ahmoz Oshmic Floyd, 29 (April 18, 2023, exsanguination from a stab wound to the neck — a claim filed against the state alleged he was stabbed by several prisoners when no prison staff were in the dorm). Clifford Lawrence Bagley, 31, died May 28, 2023.

Four state liability settlements are tied to Telfair during his tenure, per the DOAS Risk Management ledger: $1,850 to David Morris (April 6, 2021), $5,361 to Darryl Thomas (Sept. 29, 2021), $2,600 to Derrell Ruth (Oct. 5, 2021) — all while he held Warden 3 — and $1,750 to Ryan Frank DeMon (Feb. 18, 2023), while he held the Warden role.

Two other matters fall inside these postings. In 2021, while White was Warden 3, Sen. Josh McLaurin and other legislators were turned away from an unannounced prison tour, per GPS records. In January 2023, while he was Warden, Sgt. Desiree Briley was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to a role in a Ghost Face Gangsters drug trafficking network; she had helped prisoner James Dylon NeSmith smuggle methamphetamine into the prison for at least two years.

Regional roles (July 2023 onward). The records list no facility-level death attribution for White's regional positions, and no facility intel reports or events are recorded against them.

Litigation

• Powell v. White, No. 3:23-cv-00096 (S.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 4, 2023, closed March 28, 2024 — terminated.
• Riggs v. Stewart, No. 7:23-cv-00124 (M.D. Ga.), filed Nov. 21, 2023, closed Dec. 12, 2023 — terminated.
• Jackson v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00114 (S.D. Ga.), filed Sept. 13, 2022, closed April 1, 2024 — terminated.
• Ross v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00066 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 22, 2022, closed Oct. 12, 2022 — terminated.
• Askew v. White, No. 5:20-cv-00264 (M.D. Ga.), filed July 6, 2020, closed July 22, 2020 — terminated.

No outcome amounts are recorded for any of the five.

Sources

• CourtListener dockets — Powell v. White, Riggs v. Stewart, Jackson v. White, Ross v. White, Askew v. White.
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (obtained via open records) — Maurice Carter, David Morris, Darryl Thomas, Derrell Ruth, Ryan Frank DeMon payouts.
• GDC death and incident records cited in GPS facility event entries for Telfair State Prison (2020–2023).
• GPS facility event entry, Telfair State Prison, 2021 — legislative tour denial; 2023 — Briley sentencing.
• No news reports naming White directly appear in the records.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.