Carter, Curtis

Tenure Summary

Curtis Carter’s Georgia Department of Corrections record begins in 2008 as a Special Management Unit CERT team member. He later served as a lieutenant (2010) and CSM Correctional Captain (2016–2018) at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; CSM Correctional Captain (2019); and Deputy Warden (2020–2023) at Burruss C.T.C.; Warden 1 / Warden at Autry State Prison (2024 into 2025); and Warden 1 / Warden at Valdosta State Prison (2025 through May 2026). GPS records attribute 17 deaths to Carter’s facility leadership postings: 14 at Valdosta State Prison, 2 at Autry State Prison, and 1 at Burruss C.T.C.

GPS records list no lawsuits naming Carter as a defendant. The death and allegations records below are drawn from GPS structured data and the news accounts cited.

What happened on their watch

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (2010, 2016–2018). Carter held lieutenant and captain posts at GDCP. GPS death records attribute no deaths to those tenures. Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigations have separately documented contraband and overcrowding concerns at GDCP, but the structured records do not tie those findings to Carter’s postings there.

Burruss C.T.C. (2019–2023). Carter was a CSM Correctional Captain in 2019 and Deputy Warden from 2020 through 2023. One death is attributed to this posting: Robert Carey Seymour, 58, whose death on March 9, 2022, is recorded under cause category 6 with no notes in GPS records.

Autry State Prison (2024–2025). GPS records list Carter as Warden 1 at Autry from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, and as Warden from February 1, 2024, to July 15, 2025. Two deaths are attributed: Alerick Campbell, 56, on December 22, 2024, and Harvey Jack Woodard, 69, on May 8, 2025. Both are recorded under cause category 6 with no notes.

Valdosta State Prison (2025–2026). GPS records list Carter as Warden 1 from January 1, 2025, to July 15, 2025, and as Warden from July 16, 2025, to May 31, 2026. Fourteen deaths are attributed to this posting. They include William Springer, 36, on September 16, 2025; Garrett Paul Schmidt, 40, on September 21, 2025; Paul Hampton, 66, on October 12, 2025; Arthur Nekita Burks, 61, on November 28, 2025; Jessie James Kilgore, 56, on December 23, 2025; Je’Vion Benham, 21, on December 24, 2025; Dequontist Marquez Lucas, 41, on December 25, 2025; Ronnie Jackson, 62, on February 15, 2026; Sergio Hernandez, 39, on February 26, 2026; Robert Louis Johnson, 60, on March 8, 2026; Robert Jordan Watkins, 38, on March 18, 2026; Dontarious Lamonta Burke, 23, on April 19, 2026; Jeremiah Alan Brown, 40, on May 26, 2026; and Kevin James Flamer, 26, on May 28, 2026.

GPS records show several of those deaths have allegation-rich notes. For Springer, GPS research citing WALB and HCRC-GA Facebook states he was stabbed in the face and head and that his family alleged jailers did not respond for hours; the death is recorded under cause category 3. For Benham, GPS records state the Lowndes County coroner ruled the death a homicide by strangulation, estimating he died about two days before his body was discovered; WTOC reported the coroner criticized the delay as a major security concern. For Watkins, a Telegram relay tip in GPS records said an inmate known as “Rocky” was found dead on the J1 tier and may have been deceased about two days before discovery; a separate, single-source inmate-witness allegation stated Watkins killed himself, which GPS marked unconfirmed pending corroboration. For Jackson, a GPS user report states he had a seizure, fell off his bunk, and hit his head; the death is recorded under cause category 1.

During Carter’s Valdosta tenure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Valdosta State Prison was operating with roughly 80% of correctional officer positions vacant and described it as “deadlier amid corruption, extreme staffing shortage,” according to GPS intel summaries. GPS records also show a May 27, 2026, indictment of inmate Luis Ramirez and six others in a drug-trafficking operation allegedly directed from Valdosta via contraband cellphones, and AJC reporting on Operation Skyhawk alleging six GDC officers helped inmate Kydetrius Thomas smuggle drug-soaked paper, pills, and tobacco. In March 2026, during Carter’s tenure, a federal judge sanctioned GDC and former officer Angela Butler over the destruction of video footage from a 2022 fatal stabbing at Valdosta, according to GPS records; the underlying lawsuit was filed in January 2024 and did not name Carter.

Sources

• GPS personnel, death, and intel records — Curtis Carter tenure data and decedent entries
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — investigations on Valdosta staffing shortages, contraband schemes, and prison violence, as compiled in GPS intel records
• WALB — reporting on the William Springer stabbing and family allegations
• WTOC — reporting on the coroner’s criticism of the Je’Vion Benham death delay
• Yahoo.com — reporting on the Luis Ramirez drug-trafficking indictment at Valdosta State Prison
• GPS records of federal court proceedings — sanction ruling in the Williams stabbing video-destruction matter

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 16, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.