CORRECTION: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is not involved in this case. We regret the error.
GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) – News 3 is the first to speak with Attorney Malone Hart, representing Aureon Grace‘s family. She is the Aramark food service employee who was killed while on the job at Smith State Prison.
Investigators say in the early morning hours of June 16, Grace was shot by inmate Jaydrekus Hart. He then shot himself.
The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) released a statement that says the pair had a personal relationship. Attorney Hart says the family doesn’t know the extent of their bond, but that people should be more concerned with how the inmate got ahold of a gun.
“A firearm in the prison system is beyond me,” said Hart.
He said that he thinks investigators are saying Grace was somehow involved with the firearm in the facility.
“There’s no way that she could have brought [the gun] in based on the security she has to go through,” Hart said. “Security elsewhere that’s lacking. We believe the firearm was actually brought in prior to her ever working there.”
WSAV reached out to GDC regarding reports that they were notified of a weapon inside prison walls before this incident. Lori Benoit, manager of the Office of Public Affairs, sent the following statement,
The report of a gun inside the facility was investigated by our Office of Professional Standards. A targeted shakedown was conducted the following morning of the report, in addition to a full facility shakedown and no leads were developed. Further, the complainant admitted to investigators that there was no gun inside the facility. As you mention, this is still an active investigation. We will be providing an update to all media related to any details we are able to confirm as soon as possible, and we will be sure to include WSAV in that distribution.
Grace’s family claims that they have not been treated with respect by the GDC. Hart says Grace’s loved ones found out about her death through social media, adding that investigators “ransacked” Grace’s home during a search on Monday, June 17.
They have questions about her relationship with the inmate, but they say she did not deserve this.
“There’s no way that a family should lose a mama or a daughter because she’s in a bad relationship. The focus should be on the system, acknowledging that they should be taking precautions to stop stuff like this from happening,” Hart said.
Grace began working in the prison kitchen in January, according to the GDC. Inmate Hart was serving 20 years for voluntary manslaughter out of Carroll County with a maximum release date of June 2043.
A current employee blames Warden Jacob Beasley and Commissioner Tyrone Oliver for not cracking down on contraband. News 3 kept this employee’s identity anonymous since she claims to have received several death threats. She says the facility is understaffed, and the inmates outnumber the officers.
“The inmates are running the prison. We’re just allowed to be there, and we’re allowed to go home every day by the grace of the inmates. Right now, they focus on just each other, keeping each other in line, and fighting for power,” the employee said.
She has worked in the prison system for over 15 years, previously serving as a correctional officer. Most recently, she worked in the mailroom. There is where she learned how much contraband was getting through.
She speculates that a gun could have gotten through the back gate or dropped by a drone.
She says Grace should have never been put in a deadly situation.
“There should be an officer running that kitchen and supervising what’s going on. There should be no guns in the institution… that should be an impossibility,” she said.
This was the second killing of a staff member at Smith State Prison in less than a year. Correctional Officer Robert Clark, 42, died last October after being stabbed in the back by an inmate with a homemade weapon.
A state investigation into a sprawling contraband scheme inside the prison resulted in the arrest and firing of the prison’s warden, Brian Adams, in February 2023. He was charged with racketeering, bribery, making or writing false statements and violating his oath as a public officer.
Also, the botched murder-for-hire that led to the shooting death of Glennville resident Bobby Kicklighter in Jan. 2021.
Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that GDC would undergo an in-depth assessment to identify ways to improve the prison system.
Smith State Prison has a 1,500-inmate capacity. It is considered a close-security prison that houses offenders considered violent or an escape risk.
