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Byrd, Yolanda
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 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
Yolanda Byrd began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in 2015, then advanced to lieutenant and unit manager before being appointed Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison in 2019. Per GPS records, she held that post continuously through at least the end of 2025, and the data attributes 14 deaths at Rogers State Prison to her leadership tenure. Two civil lawsuits name Byrd as a defendant—one pending and one terminated—and facility intelligence files include a reported guard stabbing and multiple allegations that a 2024 death ruled a suicide was actually a homicide.What happened on their watch
Byrd served as Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison from January 2019 onward. GPS records count 14 deaths at the facility during her tenure, occurring between March 2021 and February 2026. The deaths span several cause categories: four hangings certified as suicide (Jeremy Walton, 2021; Michael McKee, 2021; Taylor Hunt, 2024; Justin Hollingsworth, 2025), three accidental methamphetamine-related fatalities (Caleb Sexton, 2022; Timothy Jenkins, 2022; William Smiley, 2023), and natural deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease or infection (Chad Jeter, 2021; Randall Baker, 2023; David Wood, 2025; Randy Stewart, 2025). Two deaths remained undetermined—Bradley Weitzel’s 2023 death, for which the GBI medical examiner declined to perform an autopsy, and John Meeks’s 2026 death, for which no cause is yet recorded.The death of Taylor Hunt on September 28, 2024, attracted sustained scrutiny. Multiple GPS intelligence reports allege that Hunt’s body showed ligature marks, broken bones, bruises, and puncture and stab wounds, and that the official suicide ruling was contradicted by physical evidence suggesting homicide. The GBI autopsy, obtained later, confirmed hanging as the cause and manner suicide, but the allegations remain documented in facility intelligence logs. Another reported incident from 2025 describes Jason Palmer being held in segregation at Telfair State Prison—though the entry is tagged to Rogers SP—with claims of denied adequate food and phone access. A separate allegation references a guard stabbing at the facility.
GBI autopsy reports obtained by GPS resolved several previously uncategorized deaths. For instance, Randall Baker, age 38, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with near‑total occlusion of a coronary artery. Two men in their early twenties died after using methamphetamine inside the prison: Timothy Jenkins, a known asthmatic, collapsed in his cell after a fatal asthma attack precipitated by methamphetamine, and Caleb Sexton was found unresponsive in a shower. Both cases point to contraband drugs reaching the general population.
Litigation
- Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25‑cv‑00057 (S.D. Ga., filed July 22, 2025) – pending. Byrd is named as a defendant.
- Quintanilla v. Bryson, No. 6:17‑cv‑00004 (S.D. Ga., filed January 9, 2017, terminated March 24, 2020) – Byrd is listed as a defendant; the case closed without a reported payout amount.
Two pre‑litigation settlements involving Rogers State Prison appear in the Georgia DOAS risk management ledger: $17,500 for an incident related to Angelo Lamar Roberson in 2019, and $75 for an incident involving Carl Garrett in 2017.
Sources
- GPS personnel and mortality records (career timeline, death counts, facility‑level attribution)
- GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy and consultation reports (multiple cases, 2021–2024)
- Tattnall County coroner records (2025 deaths, causes of death)
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia dockets via CourtListener (Hamilton v. Beasley, Quintanilla v. Bryson)
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (Rogers SP payouts)
- GPS facility intelligence logs (allegations concerning Taylor Hunt, guard stabbing, Jason Palmer)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:25-cv-00057 | GASD | 2025-07-22 | pending |
| 6:17-cv-00004 | GASD | 2017-01-09 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
14 people died at facilities under Byrd, Yolanda's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-19 | JOHN MEEKS | 49 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-07-17 | RANDY EUGENE STEWART | 60 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-06-26 | JUSTIN WAYMON HOLLINGSWORTH | 43 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-02-04 | David Edward Wood | — | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-09-28 | TAYLOR ANTHONY HUNT | 29 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-07-23 | SHAWN REMAR JOHNSON | 34 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2023-12-06 | RANDALL HENRY BAKER | 38 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2023-08-15 | WILLIAM JOSEPH SMILEY | 41 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2023-03-21 | BRADLEY LYLE WEITZEL | 40 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2022-04-22 | CALEB SEXTON | 21 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2022-04-07 | TIMOTHY BRENT JENKINS | 22 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2021-06-12 | JEREMY LASEAN WALTON | 31 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2021-05-22 | MICHAEL GLENN MCKEE | 59 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2021-03-17 | CHAD WALKER JETER | 43 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
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