Byrd, Yolanda

Tenure Summary

Yolanda Byrd entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Corrections Officer in 2015, advancing through lieutenant and unit manager roles before becoming Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison — a position she has held continuously from 2019 through at least 2025. GPS records show 14 deaths attributed to Rogers State Prison during Byrd's tenure as Deputy Warden, spanning March 2021 through February 2026. The dominant cause category across 13 of those deaths is category 6 (cause unspecified in the structured records); one death is recorded as a suicide by hanging. Byrd is named as a defendant in two federal civil lawsuits, one of which remains pending.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Rogers State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–present)

GPS records attribute 14 deaths at Rogers State Prison to the period of Byrd's tenure as Deputy Warden. The deaths span from March 17, 2021 (Chad Walker Jeter, 43) through February 19, 2026 (John Meeks, 49). Thirteen of the fourteen deaths carry cause category 6; one — Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, 43, who died June 26, 2025 — is recorded as a suicide by hanging in a disciplinary isolation unit ("hole"), per GPS records. The ages of the deceased range from 21 (Caleb Sexton, April 2022) to 60 (Randy Eugene Stewart, July 2025), with several decedents in their twenties and thirties: Timothy Brent Jenkins (22), Taylor Anthony Hunt (29), Shawn Remar Johnson (34), Jeremy Lasean Walton (31), and Bradley Lyle Weitzel (40), among others.

The death of Taylor Anthony Hunt (September 27, 2024, age 29) is the subject of repeated GPS intelligence event entries. According to those records, GDC initially classified Hunt's death as a suicide; however, GPS records allege the body showed ligature marks, broken bones, bruises, puncture wounds, and stab wounds — physical findings that GPS records characterize as contradicting the suicide ruling and suggesting homicide. No independent source URL is attached to these event entries in the structured data.

No intel reports specific to Byrd are present in the records. No news mentions are recorded.

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Litigation

• Quintanilla v. Bryson, No. 6:17-cv-00004 (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ga.), filed January 9, 2017; terminated March 24, 2020. Byrd is listed as a defendant. No outcome amount is recorded. Per court records via CourtListener.

• Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25-cv-00057 (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ga.), filed July 22, 2025; pending as of the date of these records. Byrd is listed as a defendant. No outcome amount is recorded. Per court records via CourtListener.

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Sources

• GPS records — deaths-during-tenure table, Rogers State Prison, 2021–2026
• GPS intelligence events — Taylor Hunt death entries (multiple), Rogers State Prison, event date September 2024
• CourtListener — Quintanilla v. Bryson, No. 6:17-cv-00004, GASD (filed 2017, closed 2020)
• CourtListener — Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25-cv-00057, GASD (filed July 22, 2025, pending)

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