The Prisoners (Comic Series)

"Hey. You guys want some meatloaf?"

- Dexter greeting Rick and Tyreese as they enter the cafeteria.



The Prisoners are convicts who were sent to the West Georgia Correctional Facility to answer for their crimes. Out of nearly a hundred prisoners there, only few survived the outbreak when it began. They are first encountered in issue 13 of the Comic Series and "Seed " in the TV Series.

Pre-Apocalypse
Hardly anything is known about the prisoners other than that they were all arrested for committing crimes: Axel for armed robbery, Andrew for drug possession, distribution, and robbery, Thomas for homicide, and Dexter for double homicide. It is unknown though how their lives were prior to their arrest and imprisonment.

Post-Apocalypse
A riot broke out at the prison soon after the outbreak. Due to the news broadcasts, the inmates and guards had a basic understanding of what was going on. Soon, many of the guards abandoned the Prison and the inmates to fend for themselves; at about the same time, a few walkers had somehow gotten inside and began to kill the inmates. Several of the guards freed the inmates and joined together to fight their way out, resulting in heavy casualties. By the time Rick and his group discovered the Prison, it was discovered that there were only four survivors left who were locked up inside the cafeteria and left to die by one of the guards. It later turns out that the two groups cannot co-exist inside the Prison after one of them, Thomas, kills two of the survivors and Dexter is wrongly accused of the crime. After Thomas gets killed, Dexter and Andrew try to kick out Rick's group, resulting in walkers flooding the courtyard. During the struggle Rick shoots Dexter, covering it up as friendly-fire, and Andrew surrenders, running outside the gates to die. Axel, the only prisoner to side with Rick, joins the group and is an integral part of the group until he is killed during the Woodbury assault to take the Prison.

Members

 * Dexter (Leader)
 * Axel
 * Andrew
 * Thomas Richards

Crimes

 * Dexter - Double Homicide
 * Axel - Armed Robbery
 * Andrew - Drug Possession, Distribution, and Robbery
 * Thomas Richards - Homicide (claims first he committed a tax fraud)

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims the Prisoners have killed:
 * Dexter's Unnamed Wife
 * Unnamed Man
 * Thomas's Unnamed Wife
 * Rachel Greene
 * Susie Greene
 * Multiple Woodbury Soldiers
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Deaths

 * Thomas Richards
 * Dexter
 * Andrew
 * Axel

TV Series


"Holy Shit!"

- Axel as the prisoners witness Rick chopping off Hershel's leg after being bitten.

Pre-Apocalypse
Nothing is known about the Prisoners before the outbreak, other than Oscar was arrested for breaking and entering and Axel was arrested for armed robbery. Though he reveals that he had a water pistol and had no intentions of hurting anyone. He was also staying with his brother before being arrested. Tomas, Andrew, and Big Tiny were also arrested, but it is unknown for what.

Post-Apocalypse
After Hershel's leg was amputated, Rick and Daryl discover the prisoners hiding out in the broom closet of the cafeteria, noticeably uneducated about the apocalypse. They mention that they had been locked in the broom closet when 'riots' broke out. Rick and company initially leave the prisoners be, taking Hershel back to Cell Block C. The leader of the prisoners, Tomas, arrives and begins demanding that the prisoners be let back into Cell Block C due to them residing there before the apocalypse. Axel begins to propose a compromise of moving into a different cell block. Rick and Tomas eventually make a deal: In exchange for half of the prisoners' food supplies, they'll help clear out a different Cell Block. Initially they work together, but Tomas brutally kills Big Tiny after he was bitten. Tomas is later killed by Rick after the former tried to kill him twice. Andrew — waiting to attack them after being locked in the courtyard, lured a swarm of walkers into the Prison and caused the attack as his revenge, resulting in the deaths of Lori and T-Dog. Andrew urges Oscar to shoot Rick and to take back the Prison, but Oscar shoots Andrew in the head instead.

The remaining two Prisoners are allowed to stay, but are not allowed to interact with the other survivors. When Rick decides to travel to Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie, Oscar volunteers to go with them but is killed while fleeing back to the Prison after the successful rescue attempt. Axel was left as the sole surviving prisoner and helps build some of the barriers and defenses around the Prison. He is eventually killed by The Governor during the first assault on the Prison from the Woodbury Army.

Members

 * Tomas (Leader)
 * Andrew
 * Big Tiny
 * Oscar
 * Axel

Crimes

 * Tomas - Unknown
 * Andrew - Unknown
 * Big Tiny - Unknown
 * Oscar - Breaking and Entering
 * Axel - Armed Robbery

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims the Prisoners have killed:
 * Big Tiny
 * T-Dog (Caused)
 * Lori Grimes (Caused)
 * Andrew
 * Eisenberg (Possibly)
 * Bob Adams (Possibly)
 * Multiple Woodbury Soldiers
 * Numerous counts of zombies

Deaths

 * Big Tiny
 * Tomas
 * Andrew
 * Oscar
 * Axel

Trivia

 * In Telltale Games' The Walking Dead, Lee Everett was being transferred to the same prison as the prisoners when the outbreak began.
 * In the Comic series, there are 4 prisoners: Dexter, Andrew, Axel, and Thomas Richards, whereas in the TV series, there are 5 prisoners: Tomas, Andrew, Axel, Oscar, and Big Tiny.
 * In both the Comic and TV series, the leaders of the prisoners (Dexter and Tomas) are the second members to die (after Thomas for Dexter, and after Big Tiny for Tomas). Also, both leaders were killed by Rick.
 * In the TV Series, Axel tells Rick that he was arrested for selling pharmaceuticals. This is later revealed to be false and that he had actually robbed a gas station with a water pistol.
 * In both the Comic and TV series, Axel is the last prisoner to die. Also, both were killed similarly (Axel from the Comics was shot in the head by one of The Governor's soldiers from outside the Prison fences during the second assault on the Prison from the Woodbury Army, but Axel from the TV show was shot in the head by The Governor himself from outside the Prison fences during the first assault on the Prison from the Woodbury Army.
 * Despite the different looks of the two characters, Tomas is confirmed to be the television counterpart of Thomas Richards. However, Tomas does share several similarities with Dexter, the leader of the prisoners in the Comics.
 * In the Comic Series, the prisoners' jumpsuits are orange, whereas in the TV Series, they are dark blue.
 * In both Comic and TV series, all of the prisoners were killed.
 * This is the first group in both the Comic and TV series to be completely wiped out.