Byrd, Yolanda

Tenure Summary

Yolanda Byrd’s recorded GDC career begins with a corrections officer posting in 2015, then CSM correctional lieutenant in 2016, and CSM correctional unit manager in 2017–2018. From 2019 through 2025, GPS records list her as deputy warden at Rogers State Prison, with salary rising from $54,833.42 in 2019 to $74,155.20 in 2025. GPS records attribute 14 deaths at Rogers State Prison to Byrd’s deputy-warden tenure; all 14 are listed under Rogers State Prison. The documented decedents span from March 2021 to February 2026, though Byrd’s posted salary history ends in 2025. No deaths are attributed to her earlier non-facility postings. Court records show two cases naming Byrd as a defendant: Hamilton v. Beasley, filed in 2025 and pending, and Quintanilla v. Bryson, filed in 2017 and terminated in 2020. A state liability ledger also records a $17,500 payout tied to a 2019 Rogers State Prison incident.

What happened on their watch

Rogers State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–2025)

GPS records list 14 deaths at Rogers State Prison with Byrd recorded as deputy warden at the time of death. Chronologically, the documented decedents include:

• 2021: Chad Walker Jeter, 43, whose cause is not detailed in the provided record; Michael Glenn McKee, 59, and Jeremy Lasean Walton, 31, both certified by GBI medical examiner records as hangings with manner suicide.
• 2022: Timothy Brent Jenkins, 22, died of methamphetamine use complicating bronchial asthma, manner accident, per GBI autopsy; Caleb Sexton, 21, died of toxic effects of methamphetamine, manner accident, per GBI autopsy.
• 2023: Bradley Lyle Weitzel, 40 — GBI reviewed and declined an autopsy, so cause rests with the county coroner/medical examiner; William Joseph Smiley, 41, died of toxic effects of methamphetamine complicating asthma, manner accident; Randall Henry Baker, 38, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, manner natural.
• 2024: Shawn Remar Johnson, 34, with no cause narrative in the provided extract; Taylor Anthony Hunt, 29 — GBI medical examiner records list cause hanging and manner suicide.
• 2025: David Edward Wood, whose death certificate lists coronary atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease complicated by influenza A and parainfluenza, manner natural; Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, 43, suicide by hanging per coroner and GBI records; Randy Eugene Stewart, 60, natural death from E. coli peritonitis from a perforated duodenum, with diabetes, hypertension, cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis C listed as contributing.
• 2026: John Meeks, 49, with no cause narrative in the provided record.

The extract shows several patterns: at least four deaths attributed to hanging/suicide, three methamphetamine-involved accidental deaths, multiple natural deaths, and several cases where no cause is detailed. For Weitzel, GBI records explicitly state that no autopsy was performed after a coroner referral.

Separately, GPS intelligence logs contain repeated allegations concerning Taylor Hunt’s death at Rogers State Prison. Those entries allege the official suicide ruling was contradicted by evidence including ligature marks, broken bones, bruises, and puncture or stab wounds. These are allegations in GPS intel records, not established findings; the GBI medical examiner record in the provided data lists Hunt’s cause as hanging and manner as suicide. A GPS allegation report also describes a “Guard Stabbing Incident” at Rogers State Prison.

During Byrd’s Rogers tenure, the state paid $17,500 in a 2019 liability settlement tied to Rogers State Prison involving Angelo Lamar Roberson, according to the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger.

Litigation

• Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25-cv-00057, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, filed July 22, 2025; pending. Byrd is listed as a defendant.
• Quintanilla v. Bryson, No. 6:17-cv-00004, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, filed January 9, 2017; terminated March 24, 2020. Byrd is listed as a defendant.

Sources

• GPS personnel and mortality records — positions, deaths attributed, and facility-level mortality data
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy and medical examiner records — DOFS case files for Jenkins, Sexton, Smiley, Baker, Walton, McKee, Hunt, and Weitzel
• Tattnall County coroner records — Hollingsworth, Wood, and Stewart death files
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia dockets via CourtListener — Hamilton v. Beasley; Quintanilla v. Bryson
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — Angelo Lamar Roberson payout tied to Rogers State Prison
• GPS intelligence logs and allegation reports — Taylor Hunt death allegations; guard stabbing incident at Rogers State Prison

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.