DODGE STATE PRISON

Last updated September 13, 2026.(DS)

Dodge State Prison sits in Chester, in Dodge County — a medium-security men's facility that opened in 1983 and was expanded in 1989. Built for 404 people, it now carries a rated capacity of 1,236 and, according to GPS's facility database, holds 1,326 — roughly 107% of rated capacity and more than three times its original design. The population lives primarily in large dormitory-style housing, with single-cell isolation reserved for segregation and disciplinary confinement. The facility has been involved in past federal corruption investigations into staff-facilitated contraband and drug trafficking, and like much of the Georgia Department of Corrections system it relies on inmate labor details and a small industry operation to function. Warden Curtis J. Todd has led the facility since January 2026, with deputy wardens Alicia Necole Ward, Khalilah J. Williams, and Karen Thomas listed in GPS's personnel records.

Sixteen Deaths, Two Homicides, and a Violence Pattern That Reaches the Courts

GPS's mortality database records 16 deaths at Dodge State Prison since 2020 — a floor rather than a final count, since GDC reports deaths roughly two months late. Seven were attributed to natural or medical causes, three to suicide, two to homicide, one to overdose, one to "other," and two remain unknown or pending. The suicides span the record: Kenneth Brown, 58, died on January 31, 2024; John August Comer, 33, on September 9, 2023; and Charles Dennis Casey, 41, on May 6, 2023. The most recent death GPS has recorded at the facility is Warren Peacock, 70, who died on April 28, 2026, of an overdose.

The two homicides are the deaths that put Dodge on the public record. Hezekiah Sha'Nard Cuyler, 21, died on September 14, 2022, from blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's homicide-tracking coverage. Douglas Anthony Forts, 57, died on June 2, 2022, from acute traumatic amputation of a finger sustained during a fight, the same outlet reported. Both deaths reflect the broader pattern GPS has documented across Georgia's medium-security facilities: violence that turns fatal inside dormitory housing where staffing is thin and gang dynamics are entrenched.

The systemic context is stark. GPS has documented that officer vacancies across Georgia's prisons have run between 49.3% and 60% systemwide for multiple years, against a national standard of no more than 10%. The October 2024 DOJ findings letter concluded that "the leadership of the Georgia Department of Corrections has lost control of its facilities" and faulted GDC for placing "too much blame on gangs and insufficient emphasis on understaffing." Approximately 31% of the system's roughly 49,000 incarcerated people are validated members of 315 different security threat groups — more than double the national average. GPS treats staffing collapse and gang assumption of facility control as an integrated structural finding that explains the per-facility violence and mortality narratives, including those at Dodge. GPS has independently tracked 1,890 deaths in GDC custody since 2020.

Food Safety: Perfect Scores and Failing Grades on the Same Day

The Georgia Department of Public Health has inspected Dodge State Prison's food service twelve times since December 2023, with scores ranging from 84 to 100. The pattern is not one of steady decline or steady improvement — it is one of same-day divergence. On November 21, 2024, one inspection returned a perfect 100, Grade A. On the same day, a second inspection of the facility scored 87, Grade B, citing improper hot holding temperatures, plumbing and backflow device issues, and physical facilities not properly maintained. On June 5, 2025, one inspection scored 94 while another scored 84, the lower citing failures in consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods, date marking and disposition, food labeling, and original container requirements. On November 20, 2025, the facility received a 90 and an 84 on the same day, the lower score citing food-contact surface sanitation, cold holding temperatures, and hot holding temperatures. The most recent inspections, on June 24, 2026, both returned perfect scores of 100.

GPS has documented a systemic pattern of food-service sanitation failure across GDC kitchens that DPH inspection scores systematically fail to capture: tray-sanitizing dishwashers broken for sustained periods, sustained roach and rodent infestation in kitchen and serving areas, and meals served on visibly contaminated trays. The pattern is hidden from DPH scores, in GPS's analysis, because inspections are scheduled walkthroughs that do not assess equipment under load, and because GPS has documented professional overlap between inspectors and facility staff in small-county settings. High DPH scores at GDC facilities coexist with sustained witness reports of equipment failure and food contamination — a contradiction GPS has investigated in its reporting on prison food service. GDC spends approximately $1.69 per person per day on food, under 60 cents per meal, against the FDA Thrifty Food Plan estimate of roughly $10 per day for a nutritionally adequate adult male diet. The Marshall Project independently reported in May 2026 on rats in kitchens, insects in food, moldy trays, and visible malnutrition across Georgia facilities, quoting GPS connecting chronic underfeeding to the violence pattern the DOJ documented in October 2024.

A $16,000 Settlement and the Liability Ledger

In 2025, the State of Georgia paid $16,000 to settle a claim brought by Kimyania Smith tied to an incident at Dodge State Prison, according to the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger obtained through open records. The settlement, dated May 26, 2025, is the only court-verified liability action GPS has documented at this facility. It sits within a broader landscape of state payouts across GDC facilities, where GPS has tracked settlements tied to in-custody deaths, assaults, and failures of care.

Infrastructure, Staffing, and the Medium-Security Mismatch

Dodge State Prison is among the GDC facilities operating decades past its original design assumptions. Most GDC facilities are 30-40+ years old, with documented patterns of deferred maintenance that have produced systemwide infrastructure failures: broken cell-door locks, inoperative surveillance and fire-alarm systems, mold and water failures, broken kitchen sanitization equipment, and pest infestations. GPS treats infrastructure collapse as a force multiplier for the violence, classification, gang-control, and mortality crises documented at the facility level. The DOJ's October 2024 findings, the Guidehouse 2024 consultant assessment, and Commissioner Oliver's public "end of life" statements all corroborate the pattern.

The facility's population of 1,326 against a rated capacity of 1,236 — and an original design capacity of just 404 — reflects a systemwide pattern GPS has documented: prison populations have doubled since original facility design while correctional officer vacancies average 50%. The hiring pipeline cannot close the gap, with acceptance rates under 15% and 82.7% of new hires leaving in their first year. Georgia ranks last of 50 states for correctional officer pay. At Dodge, as elsewhere, the result is a medium-security facility operating under conditions that strain every system — from food service to medical care to basic safety.

Sources

This analysis draws on Georgia Department of Public Health food-safety inspection records; the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger obtained through open records; Atlanta Journal-Constitution homicide-tracking coverage; GPS's own investigative reporting on GDC staffing, food service, infrastructure, and violence patterns; The Marshall Project's May 2026 investigation of Georgia prison food; federal DOJ findings; and GPS's facility database and mortality records.