Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Burks, Letetia Shanta
Burks, Letetia Shanta
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 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
Letetia Shanta Burks has held custody leadership posts inside the Georgia Department of Corrections since at least 2018, serving six consecutive years as Deputy Warden at Rutledge State Prison before being elevated to Warden 1 at Lee State Prison in 2025. GPS records attribute a total of 11 deaths to facilities under her supervision during those assignments — ten at Rutledge and one at Lee. No lawsuits name Burks as a defendant, though family members of two men who died at Rutledge have separately alleged negligence in connection with their deaths.What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden, Rutledge State Prison (2018–2023)
While Burks held the facility deputy role, GPS records attribute ten deaths to Rutledge State Prison across 2020–2023. The decedents, listed by death date, are: Andrew Phillip Campbell (28, April 2, 2020); James Eric Mitchell (58, May 4, 2020); Terry Wayne Williams (61, June 22, 2020); Richard Hatcher (66, July 9, 2020); Harold Edward Brown (53, March 5, 2021); Curtis Mincey (74, July 22, 2021); Boyzie Barnes (65, April 30, 2022); Daniel Tyler Nichols (26, April 23, 2023); John Irvin Sr. Tidd (59, July 18, 2023); and Leonard Leroy Dillard (57, October 11, 2023).Two of those deaths were classified as homicides by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s investigation into Georgia prison killings: the AJC reports that Daniel Tyler Nichols died from asphyxia due to neck compression, and Curtis Mincey died from blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso, and extremities. The remaining eight deaths are coded in GPS records as cause category 6; no further cause-of-death detail is available.
In January 2025, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Curtis Mincey’s family alleging that he suffered from a mental illness but did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance while incarcerated at Rutledge, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That suit did not name Burks as a defendant. During her deputy warden years, misconduct cases also surfaced: officer Promise Tucker resigned in 2021 after admitting to smuggling tobacco into the prison since her cadet days, and a separate AJC report described an allegation that Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall accepted money in exchange for cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food inside the facility.
Warden 1, Lee State Prison (2025)
Burks assumed the top administrator role at Lee State Prison on January 1, 2025. GPS records attribute one death to the facility during her year as warden: Quinton Pearson, age 45, died on September 8, 2025. No additional cause or circumstance is included in the available data.Litigation
No lawsuits in the GPS database name Letetia Shanta Burks as a defendant.Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga. prison homicides: A list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system,” documenting homicide rulings for Daniel Tyler Nichols and Curtis Mincey
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — report on the lawsuit filed by Curtis Mincey’s sister alleging medical and psychological neglect at Rutledge State Prison
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — article on a contraband scheme allegation involving Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall at Rutledge State Prison
- GPS intelligence records — positions, total_deaths_attributed, deaths_by_facility, and the capped deaths_during_tenure sample
- GPS intelligence records — intel_events on officer Promise Tucker’s 2021 resignation and admissions of contraband smuggling at Rutledge State Prison
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 1 | LEE STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
11 people died at facilities under Burks, Letetia Shanta's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-08 | QUINTON PEARSON | 45 | LEE STATE PRISON | WARDEN 1 |
| 2023-10-11 | LEONARD LEROY DILLARD | 57 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2023-07-18 | JOHN IRVIN SR TIDD | 59 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2023-04-23 | DANIEL TYLER NICHOLS | 26 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2022-04-30 | BOYZIE BARNES | 65 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2021-07-22 | CURTIS MINCEY | 74 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2021-03-05 | HAROLD EDWARD BROWN | 53 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-07-09 | RICHARD HATCHER | 66 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-06-22 | TERRY WAYNE WILLIAMS | 61 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-05-04 | JAMES ERIC MITCHELL | 58 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-04-02 | ANDREW PHILLIP CAMPBELL | 28 | RUTLEDGE 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.