Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Banks, Mary L
Banks, Mary L
Status: active
Profile written July 19, 2026
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Mary L. Banks rose through the ranks of the Georgia Department of Corrections, starting as a corrections officer in 2015 and advancing to lieutenant, captain, and unit manager before being appointed deputy warden at Autry State Prison in 2024. During her time as a facility deputy at Autry, GPS records attribute seven deaths to her leadership tenure. No lawsuits have been filed against Banks personally, according to available court records.What happened on their watch
Banks began serving as deputy warden at Autry State Prison in January 2024. The facility had been closed in June 2023 for extensive plumbing and HVAC upgrades after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water system; an inmate had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease in 2021, per GPS incident logs. The prison later reopened, and Banks assumed her deputy role there.GPS death records show seven men died at Autry State Prison while Banks held the deputy warden post. All seven deaths share the same cause category in the GPS database. The decedents are:
- Alerick Campbell, 56, who died on December 22, 2024
- Harvey Jack Woodard, 69, who died on May 8, 2025
- Alton Anson Kelly, 61, and James Melvin Tudor, 86, both of whom died on August 23, 2025
- Richard Merritt, 75, who died on October 20, 2025
- Chaudhry Abudl Rashid, 74, who died on November 11, 2025
- Richard Cleveland Castleberry, 72, who died on April 23, 2026
GPS records do not identify any lawsuits, allegations, or investigative findings directly connecting Banks to these deaths. The facility’s history with water contamination and its subsequent closure precede her tenure. No intel reports or news mentions link Banks to any adverse incidents at Autry during her assignment.
Sources
- Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) — personnel, position, and death-attribution records for Mary L. Banks
- GPS incident logs — Legionella contamination at Autry State Prison, inmate illness, facility closure in 2023
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — facility-level liability payouts at Autry State Prison, none naming Banks as defendant
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | AUTRY STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2019-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:24-cv-04843 | GAND | 2024-10-23 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
7 people died at facilities under Banks, Mary L's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-23 | RICHARD CLEVELAND CASTLEBERRY | 72 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-11-11 | CHAUDHRY ABUDL RASHID | 74 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-10-20 | RICHARD MERRITT | 75 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-08-23 | ALTON ANSON KELLY | 61 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-08-23 | JAMES MELVIN TUDOR | 86 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-05-08 | HARVEY JACK WOODARD | 69 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-12-22 | ALERICK CAMPBELL | 56 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
Submit a correction
If you are the named individual or an authorized representative and dispute information on this page, submit details below. Substantiated corrections are applied promptly. Disputes that remain unresolved are flagged on the profile.