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Byrd, Yolanda

Status: active

Profile written May 31, 2026

Current Position Deputy Warden Rogers State Prison
Salary $74,155 2025 · state payroll
Deaths Under Their Watch 14 during their tenure

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’s GDC career began in 2015 as a corrections officer, followed by roles as lieutenant and unit manager. In January 2019 she became Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison, a post she held through at least early 2026 according to GPS salary and death records. GPS attributes 14 deaths to her tenure at Rogers State Prison, all occurring while she served as Deputy Warden. Two lawsuits name Byrd as a defendant: one was terminated in 2020, and another remains pending. Several intelligence reports allege that the 2024 death of Taylor Hunt was a homicide officially misclassified as suicide.

What happened on their watch

Byrd served as Deputy Warden at Rogers State Prison from 2019 onward. During that period, GPS records show 14 deaths at the facility. The earliest attributed fatality occurred in March 2021, and the latest in February 2026, spanning Byrd’s entire deputy warden tenure. Coroner records obtained by GPS detail three cases: Randy Eugene Stewart, 60, died in July 2025 from natural causes (E. coli peritonitis with multiple pre-existing conditions); Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, 43, died by suicide – hanging – in a segregation cell in June 2025; and David Woods (or Wood, per record discrepancy) died at a hospital in February 2025 from heart disease complicated by influenza and parainfluenza. Ten other deaths are listed with cause category “6” (cause not publicly detailed), including Taylor Anthony Hunt, 29, whose September 2024 death is the subject of multiple intelligence reports alleging that the body showed ligature marks, broken bones, bruises, and stab wounds, contradicting the official suicide ruling. Additional category‑6 deaths during Byrd’s watch involve men aged 21 to 59: Caleb Sexton (21), Timothy Brent Jenkins (22), Jeremy Lasean Walton (31), Michael Glenn McKee (59), Chad Walker Jeter (43), Randall Henry Baker (38), William Joseph Smiley (41), Bradley Lyle Weitzel (40), Shawn Remar Johnson (34), and John Meeks (49). In May 2025, an intel event also documented that prisoner Jason Palmer was held in segregation at Rogers State Prison and allegedly denied adequate food, phone access, and emergency contact registration.

Litigation

  • Hamilton v. Beasley (6:25‑cv‑00057, S.D. Ga.), filed July 22, 2025 – pending. Byrd is named as a defendant.
  • Quintanilla v. Bryson (6:17‑cv‑00004, S.D. Ga.), filed January 9, 2017 – terminated March 24, 2020. Byrd was a defendant; no monetary outcome is recorded.

Sources

  • GPS personnel and death attribution records — total deaths of 14 attributed to Byrd’s Deputy Warden tenure at Rogers State Prison
  • Tattnall County coroner records (Wave 1, loaded 2026‑05‑17) — death certificates for Randy Eugene Stewart, Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, David Woods
  • GPS intelligence reports — multiple entries alleging suspicious circumstances in the death of Taylor Hunt (September 2024) and a segregation incident involving Jason Palmer (May 2025)
  • CourtListener — dockets for Hamilton v. Beasley and Quintanilla v. Bryson

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 31, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.

Positions Held

TitleFacilityTenure
DEPUTY WARDENROGERS STATE PRISON2019-01-01 → present
CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31
CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31
CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP)2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31

Lawsuits as defendant

Case #CourtFiledStatus
6:25-cv-00057GASD2025-07-22pending
6:17-cv-00004GASD2017-01-09terminated

Deaths attributed during tenure

14 people died at facilities under Byrd, Yolanda's leadership.

DateDecedentAgeFacilityRole at time
2026-02-19JOHN MEEKS49ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2025-07-17RANDY EUGENE STEWART60ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2025-06-26JUSTIN WAYMON HOLLINGSWORTH43ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2025-02-04David Woods—ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2024-09-27TAYLOR ANTHONY HUNT29ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2024-07-23SHAWN REMAR JOHNSON34ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2023-12-06RANDALL HENRY BAKER38ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2023-08-15WILLIAM JOSEPH SMILEY41ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2023-03-21BRADLEY LYLE WEITZEL40ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2022-04-24CALEB SEXTON21ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2022-04-07TIMOTHY BRENT JENKINS22ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2021-06-12JEREMY LASEAN WALTON31ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2021-05-22MICHAEL GLENN MCKEE59ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN
2021-03-17CHAD WALKER JETER43ROGERS STATE PRISONDEPUTY WARDEN

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