Carter, Curtis

Tenure Summary

Curtis Carter is an active GDC employee whose career spans more than fifteen years, rising from a Special Management Unit CERT team assignment in 2008 through lieutenant and captain roles at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP), to deputy warden at Burruss Correctional Training Center (2020–2023), and then to facility-lead warden postings at Autry State Prison (February 2024–early 2025) and Valdosta State Prison (July 2025–present). GPS records show 22 deaths attributed to facilities during Carter's leadership-tier tenures: one at Burruss CTC while he served as deputy warden, two at Autry State Prison while he served as warden, and nineteen at Valdosta State Prison while he served as warden. The Valdosta deaths span homicides, apparent suicides, and a large number of unclassified deaths, and occur against a backdrop of documented allegations of 80% officer-vacancy rates, active federal sanctions against GDC for evidence destruction, and a multi-agency contraband investigation that produced seven officer arrests.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Burruss Correctional Training Center — Deputy Warden (2020–2023)

Carter held the deputy warden role at Burruss CTC from 2020 through 2023. GPS records attribute one death to the facility during his tenure: Robert Carey Seymour, 58, whose cause category is listed as unclassified, on March 9, 2022. No lawsuits naming Carter personally in connection with Burruss, and no intel reports specific to that facility, appear in the structured records.

Autry State Prison — Warden (February 2024–early 2025)

Carter became warden at Autry State Prison in February 2024. GPS records attribute two deaths to Autry during his tenure there: Alerick Campbell, 56, on December 22, 2024 (cause unclassified), and Harvey Jack Woodard, 69, on May 8, 2025 (cause unclassified). No facility-specific intel reports or lawsuits naming Carter in connection with Autry appear in the structured records. GPS records also note a gang-violence incident at Washington State Prison on January 11, 2026, listed against facility ID 14 (Autry), though Carter's tenure at Autry had ended by that point per position records.

Valdosta State Prison — Warden (July 16, 2025–present)

Carter assumed the warden role at Valdosta State Prison on July 16, 2025. GPS records attribute nineteen deaths to Valdosta during his tenure, running from July 2025 through April 2026. By cause category, the deaths include at least six classified as homicide, one as suicide, one as a medical event, and the remainder as unclassified. Notable individual deaths include:

• Jevion Andrez Benham, 21, found dead December 24, 2025 in segregation. Per GPS research citing WALB and the Lowndes County Coroner's Office, the coroner ruled the manner of death homicide by strangulation and estimated death occurred approximately two days before discovery. Lowndes County Coroner Austin Fiveash is quoted in GPS records as stating publicly: "It seems unfathomable that a prison can miss someone for two days. That's a major security concern if nothing else… Valdosta State Prison needs help."
• William Stacey Springer, 36, stabbed in the face and head on September 16, 2025. Per GPS research citing WALB and HCRC-GA, Springer was brain-dead at the hospital. Inmates allegedly reported that jailers did not respond to the stabbing for several hours, according to WALB; Springer's family alleges GDC failed to contact them after the attack.
• Sinjuan Harmon, killed by strangulation following an altercation on January 12, 2025, per GPS research citing WALB.
• Brandon Dominique McGee, 33, found dead April 2, 2025; GPS research citing WALB notes his body was sent to the GBI Crime Lab. The cause category is listed as homicide.
• Ryan Cornelius Rumph, 34, found dead in his cell March 11, 2025; GPS research cites WALB and WTXL, with WTXL reporting the Valdosta coroner again stated "Valdosta State Prison needs help."
• Ronnie Jackson, 62, died February 15, 2025, after reportedly suffering a seizure, falling off a bunk, and hitting his head, per GPS records.
• Robert Jordan Watkins, 38, found dead on the J1 tier March 18, 2026. Multiple sources in GPS records report the body may have been deceased approximately two days before discovery, per a Telegram relay group AI-classified report.
• Kyle Samuel Burke, killed by his cellmate April 19, 2026. Per a GPS Telegram relay report, officers were allegedly aware of ongoing issues between Burke and his cellmate since the prior Friday but failed to separate them.

Carter's tenure at Valdosta overlaps with several documented systemic conditions. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Valdosta State Prison was allegedly operating with approximately 80% of its correctional officer positions vacant, making supervision of the inmate population virtually impossible. The AJC further reported that at least six correctional officers were accused of aiding inmate Kydetrius Thomas in smuggling drug-soaked paper, pills, and tobacco — part of Operation Skyhawk, a two-year investigation announced March 28, 2024, that produced 150 arrests, 1,000 criminal charges, and $7 million in confiscated goods including 87 drones. Seven officers, including six GDC correctional officers, were arrested in that operation in connection with Valdosta, per GPS intel records.

Also overlapping Carter's Valdosta tenure: a federal judge's March 30, 2026 sanctions order. Per GPS intel records, Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner sanctioned GDC for destroying video evidence of a fatal stabbing in bad faith, and sanctioned Officer Angela Butler for lying under oath, ruling the jury will be informed of both acts and that GDC will bear liability for any verdict against Butler. The AJC reported that Butler allegedly placed incarcerated person Hakeem Olajuwon Williams in a cell while handcuffed, where he was attacked by a cellmate, and that Butler allegedly ignored Williams' cries for help. The AJC further reported that GDC destroyed video footage of the fatal stabbing after reviewing it.

Additionally, the death of Shane Griffith — beaten for up to six hours by 11 fellow inmates on the night of May 29–30, 2024, at Valdosta, per GPS intel records — predates Carter's warden tenure there but falls within the broader documented period of institutional conditions at the facility. Griffith's family filed a notice of intent to sue the state in early 2025, per GPS intel records, alleging he was beaten, burned, dragged by a rope, and killed while staff failed to intervene.

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Litigation

The structured records include six lawsuits in which a "Carter" appears as a defendant. GPS records cannot confirm these cases involve Curtis Carter the GDC employee, as the case names and subject matter do not reference GDC or corrections:

• Hill v. Macrina, No. 1:16-cv-00016 (N.D. Ga.), filed January 4, 2016; terminated June 26, 2017. No outcome amount listed.
• Johnson v. Carters Retail Inc, No. 1:21-cv-03461 (N.D. Ga.), filed August 23, 2021; terminated December 2, 2022. No outcome amount listed.
• Kat v. Glynn County School District, No. 2:25-cv-00073 (S.D. Ga.), filed May 3, 2025; pending as of GPS records. No outcome amount listed.
• Alexander v. Prospect Mortgage LLC, No. 1:13-cv-01312 (N.D. Ga.), filed April 19, 2013; terminated October 28, 2014.
• In Re Wright Medical Technology Inc Conserve Hip Implant Products, No. 1:12-md-02329 (N.D. Ga.), filed February 27, 2012; terminated June 26, 2018.
• Mainor v. Lazer Spot Inc, No. 1:11-cv-00971 (N.D. Ga.), filed March 25, 2011; terminated November 20, 2013.

None of these cases are confirmed by the structured records to name Curtis Carter the GDC employee as a party. GPS is unable to verify the connection.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Valdosta State Prison homicides, Operation Skyhawk officer arrests, 80% officer vacancy rate, Shane Griffith killing, Melvin Towns killing, Angela Butler sanctions, GDC evidence destruction, prison system capacity crisis, and systemic corruption
• WALB — reporting on William Springer stabbing, Brandon McGee death, Ryan Rumph death, Sinjuan Harmon killing, and family notification failures
• WTXL — reporting on Lowndes County Coroner statement following Ryan Rumph death
• Lowndes County Coroner's Office (Austin Fiveash) — public statement on Jevion Benham death and decomposition delay, cited in GPS records
• GPS records / Telegram relay group (AI-classified) — deaths of Kyle Samuel Burke, Robert Jordan Watkins, and Jevion Benham; user-submitted death reports for Sergio Hernandez, Ronnie Jackson
• GPS research — Sinjuan Harmon (WALB), Brandon McGee (WALB), Ryan Rumph (WALB/WTXL), William Springer (WALB/HCRC-GA), Jevion Benham (WALB)
• CourtListener / federal court dockets — six civil cases listed under defendant name "Carter"
• GPS intel events — Operation Skyhawk investigation and arrests; Shane Griffith and Melvin Towns death records; Angela Butler federal sanctions order; Griffith family notice of intent to sue

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.