Wiza, Scott T

Tenure Summary

Scott T. Wiza held multiple roles with the Georgia Department of Corrections from 2015 through at least 2025, according to GPS records. He worked as a public safety trainer, correctional assistant superintendent (2019–2021), correctional superintendent (2022), and warden. GPS records attribute eight deaths to his leadership tenure, all at Rutledge State Prison, where he served as warden from July 1, 2022, through March 31, 2025. The deaths occurred between April 23, 2023, and December 29, 2024. No lawsuits in the provided records name Wiza as a defendant. A $20,000 state liability settlement tied to a 2024 Rutledge State Prison incident was recorded during his tenure, according to the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger.

What happened on their watch

Wiza’s early postings as public safety trainer (2015–2018) and correctional assistant superintendent (2019–2021) carry no facility attribution and no deaths in the provided records. His facility-lead tenure with an attached prison begins with the Rutledge State Prison warden role on July 1, 2022.

During Wiza’s warden tenure at Rutledge, GPS records attribute eight deaths. In chronological order, the decedents were: Daniel Tyler Nichols, 26 (April 23, 2023); John Irvin Sr. Tidd, 59 (July 18, 2023); Leonard Leroy Dillard, 57 (October 11, 2023); Leroy House, 68 (January 3, 2024); Anthony Antonio Hand, 52 (January 28, 2024); Venteris Leon Hobson, 58 (July 7, 2024); Tony Jeromy Reddish, 45 (September 28, 2024); and Joe Payne, 73 (December 29, 2024). Ages ranged from 26 to 73.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s prison homicides investigation, Nichols died from asphyxia due to neck compression, and Hobson died from an inmate-to-inmate assault; the AJC’s incident report database lists Hobson’s death as a homicide. The facility event log states a coroner told a TV station that Hobson was found dead in his cell after a fight with his cellmate. The six other deaths are coded category 6 in GPS records, with no narrative cause supplied.

The facility-level event log includes a lawsuit filed January 21, 2025, over the death of Curtis Mincey. Mincey’s sister alleged he suffered from a mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance, according to the AJC. Mincey died on July 22, 2021, before Wiza became warden at Rutledge, but the lawsuit was filed during Wiza’s tenure. GPS records also contain an AJC allegation that a sergeant at Rutledge State Prison admitted to providing prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food in exchange for money on at least six occasions; the GPS record does not provide a date for that conduct.

On June 19, 2024, the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger recorded a $20,000 state liability payout tied to a 2024 Rutledge State Prison incident. The same ledger lists earlier Rutledge payouts of $395,000 in 2020 and $10,500 in 2017, both before Wiza’s warden tenure.

Litigation

• Lawsuit filed over Curtis Mincey’s death — filed January 21, 2025 (court not provided in GPS records). The sister’s lawsuit alleges Mincey had a mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance, per the AJC. The provided records do not list Wiza as a defendant.
• Buttrum v. Herring — event logged March 17, 2026; a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss and ruled Georgia’s juvenile lifer parole process may violate the Eighth Amendment. The GPS record ties the event to Rutledge State Prison but provides no defendant list or link to Wiza’s tenure.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga prison homicides: A list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” (cited for Nichols and Hobson deaths, and Mincey allegation).
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Seven officers arrested in Operation Skyhawk accused in contraband scheme run by Valdosta prisoner” (cited for Hall contraband allegation).
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — settlement payouts tied to Rutledge State Prison incidents.
• GPS records — personnel positions, deaths during tenure, and facility event log.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.