In the latest update to the chaos-plagued Augusta State Medical Prison, officials have charged inmate Demarvin Bennett with stabbing fellow inmate Ali Tanner to death.
Both men were serving life sentences for brutal murders in other counties.
MORE: Inmate Stabbed to Death Inside Augusta State Medical Prison
Tanner, 45, was stabbed in the side of the neck while he walked outside of his cell Friday, authorities said. After being shanked, Tanner ran to the prison infirmary, but he collapsed there due to a lack of blood. Prison officials tried CPR but he had already lost a lot of his blood volume, the coroner said.
Bennett, 26, was charged Thursday with murder in the death and booked through the Columbia County Detention Center. He is already serving life for a 2019 robbery and slaying of 72-year-old businessman Jack Hough at the CVS in Hall County. While awaiting trial, the East Point man tried to throw a deputy off the top level of an inmate pod and grab the deputy’s Taser, according to media reports.
For his part, Tanner was serving a life sentence for stabbing his girlfriend to death in Macon in 2014 and then stuffing her body into a hotel laundry bag and throwing it into a dumpster. In that case, an intense search ended when authorities found her body in a landfill.
A request for comment from the Georgia Department of Corrections has gone unanswered.
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History
Violence and chaos has dominated life at the prison with little comment from prison officials on possible solutions.
In May, the Columbia County Coroner’s Office was called out to the prison for an inmate who had hung himself. The inmate was placed in a call with another inmate with mental health issues. And he was able rip up strips of his bedsheet to make a noose and hang himself, authorities said.
He was identified as Christopher Jerome Johnson, an 43-year-old inmate serving time out of Cherokee County for armed robbery, aggravated assault and interference with custody.
Warden Michael Paschal was installed in January, given responsibility for supervising and managing about 190 security staff members and 1,840 medium-security male offenders at the facility.
Right after he started, inmate Terry Lee Bennett was violently killed by his cellmate. Deontae Holsey, 26, is accused of beating Bennett in the head with a dinner tray on Jan. 9 and causing his death. Terry Lee Bennett was 43.
Holsey been formally charged with murder by Columbia County authorities, since the prison is in Grovetown. The two were longtime cellmates, Holsey serving time for credit card fraud and Bennett racking up time for armed robbery and parole violations.
On Jan. 12, ASMP guard Keturah Dunbar was arrested for allegedly bringing marijuana and meth into the facility.
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In February, ASMP guard Jerianna Davis, 24, of Louisville, Ga., was arrested for violation of oath by public officer as well as inmate possessing cellphone without consent of warden.
Davis’ alleged scheme was sneaky: She concealed multiple cell phones in a bathroom at Augusta State University Hospital, where the inmate had a scheduled doctor’s visit on the afternoon of Feb. 10. The plan unraveled quickly, and Superior Court Judge Daniel Craig issued warrants against her on Feb. 11.
In May 2020, convicted killer Daniel Ferguson was being housed at the Augusta State Medical Prison when he allegedly strangled inmate Eddie Gosier, who was serving time for child molestation.
Ferguson’s history is frightening. In 2008, he murdered the 94-year-old man who lived across the street from him. Ferguson was just 17 at the time and was sentenced to life in prison.
In December 2013, inmate Damion MacClain died from injuries after a fight with Ferguson at Hays Prison, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. MacClain was strangled in his bed late at night after the doors should have been locked, reports said.
In November 2019, MacClain’s family settled its lawsuit against Georgia’s prison system for $350,000. The victim’s mother had wanted the state held accountable for ignoring the ruthless gang violence and dangerous conditions where cell door locks were left broken or could be defeated with only a napkin, according to media reports.
Greg Rickabaugh is the Jail Report Contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at greg.rickabaugh@theaugustapress.com.
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