News Release - February 22, 2007
Georgia Department of Corrections
James E. Donald, Commissioner
Office of Public Affairs
Yolanda Thompson, Director
Contact: Office of Public Affairs (404) 656-9772
For Immediate Release
New Warden Appointed to Washington State Prison
Stephen E. Roberts named as Facility Head
ATLANTA –The Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner James E. Donald announced the appointment of Stephen E. Roberts as the new Warden of Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Ga.
A Change or Responsibility ceremony will
be held on Thursday, February 22 at 10:00
a.m. at Washington State Prison. He will
take the position held by Warden Tydus
Meadows who retired on August 31.
“
Stephen Roberts is an exemplary role
model among the Correctional professionals
on our team,” said Corrections
Commissioner James E. Donald. “Employees
are the centerpiece of our organization
and we are proud to recognize Stephen
for his outstanding efforts in Corrections.”
Warden Roberts began his career with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 1981. Before coming to Washington State Prison, Roberts served as Warden at Coastal State Prison, Ware State Prison and Georgia State Prison. He was promoted to Warden of Washington State Prison on September 1, 2006.
As Warden, Mr. Roberts is responsible for the supervision of 1,200 inmates with a facility staff of 319 professionals. The mission of Washington State Prison is to provide housing to close security inmates. Their Annex, a stand-alone unit houses approximately 200 medium and minimum security male inmates and provides outside work details such as Compost, Grounds Maintenance and Farming.
Washington State Prison also has a cattle farm that accommodates 162 head of adult cattle and approximately 150 calves. The farm utilizes approximately 400 acres and produces winter feed for their cattle. Cattle are raised for slaughter in order to help feed the state prison population.
Roberts, a native of Waycross, Ga., attended Georgia Military College where he earned a Degree in Criminal Justice in 1995. He is a graduate of both the University of Georgia Correctional Leadership Institute and the Georgia Department of Corrections Warden Pre-Command Courses.
The Georgia Department of Corrections is the fifth largest prison system in the United States and is responsible for supervising over 57,000 inmates in custody and 140,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with nearly 15,000 employees.
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