Byrd, Yolanda

Tenure Summary

Yolanda Byrd entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Corrections Officer (SP) in 2015, became a CSM Correctional Lieutenant in 2016, and served as CSM Correctional Unit Manager in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 she moved into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison, a posting that continues through the 2025 salary row and is followed by an additional Deputy Warden entry in 2026. GPS records attribute 14 deaths to Rogers State Prison during her deputy-warden tenure, the only facility-tenure deaths listed for Byrd. The on-watch deaths span 2021 through 2026 and include multiple hangings certified as suicide, three accidental methamphetamine-related deaths, natural medical deaths, and three deaths still carrying cause category 6 in the structured record. Two federal cases appear in the litigation section of Byrd’s record, and a 2019 state settlement payout tied to Rogers State Prison appears in the DOAS ledger.

What happened on their watch

Rogers State Prison, Deputy Warden (2019–2025, with a further 2026 entry)

GPS records list 14 deaths at Rogers State Prison while Byrd held the Deputy Warden role. Chronologically by incident date:

• 2021: Jeremy Walton, 31, and Michael McKee, 59 — GBI reports list cause as hanging and manner as suicide. Chad Jeter, 43, is listed under cause category 2.
• 2022: Timothy Jenkins, 22, died of methamphetamine use complicating bronchial asthma, manner accident, per GBI DOFS records; Caleb Sexton, 21, died of toxic effects of methamphetamine, manner accident, per GBI DOFS records.
• 2023: Bradley Weitzel, 40, had no GBI autopsy after the medical examiner declined; his cause remains undetermined. William Smiley, 41, died of toxic effects of methamphetamine complicating asthma, manner accident. Randall Baker, 38, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, manner natural.
• 2024: Taylor Hunt, 29, is documented by GBI as hanging, manner suicide; Shawn Johnson, 34, is listed under cause category 6.
• 2025: David Wood, age not listed, died of coronary atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease complicated by influenza/parainfluenza, manner natural. Justin Hollingsworth, 43, died of hanging, manner suicide per coroner and GBI records, with a coroner note that GRC team access was delayed about one hour. Randy Stewart, 60, died of E. coli peritonitis from perforated duodenum, manner natural.
• 2026: John Meeks, 49, is listed under cause category 6.

Three deaths in this timeframe involved methamphetamine in custody — Jenkins, Sexton, and Smiley — which GPS notes flag as contraband-supply data points. Intel records include former prisoner claims that a fan-motor fire in H building was falsely blamed on a prisoner, that a civilian farm supervisor supplied vapes and computer access and then blamed the work detail, and that a counselor known as “Cowboy” was arrested for bringing drugs and phones into the facility. A separate intel report contains a “Guard Stabbing Incident” at Rogers. Multiple GPS intel-event entries assert that Taylor Hunt’s death, officially ruled suicide, showed evidence of trauma and that the ruling was contradicted by physical evidence; those are allegations, while the GBI medical examiner record in the file lists hanging and suicide. A 2025 intel event describes Jason Palmer held in segregation and denied adequate food, phone access, and emergency contact registration; the record assigns the event to facility ID 12, Rogers State Prison.

DOAS settlement ledger entries show a $17,500 payout tied to a 2019 Rogers State Prison incident involving Angelo Lamar Roberson and a $75 payout tied to a 2017 incident involving Carl Garrett. The 2017 payout predates Byrd’s deputy-warden posting.

Litigation

• Hamilton v. Beasley, 6:25-cv-00057, GASD, filed July 22, 2025; pending. The docket caption does not name Byrd directly.
• Quintanilla v. Bryson, 6:17-cv-00004, GASD, filed January 9, 2017; terminated March 24, 2020. The docket caption does not name Byrd directly.

Sources

• GPS personnel, deaths-by-facility, intel report, and intel event records
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy and consultation reports, multiple Rogers State Prison cases, 2021–2025
• Tattnall County Coroner records for Stewart, Hollingsworth, and Wood
• CourtListener dockets: Hamilton v. Beasley and Quintanilla v. Bryson
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger, via open records
• Facebook public comments in a Georgia prison family group, cited in GPS intel reports

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.