Cooper, Dana Marie

Tenure Summary

Dana Marie Cooper's documented career in the Georgia Department of Corrections, as reflected in state position and payroll records, runs through a Correctional Assistant Superintendent post in calendar year 2020 and then a Superintendent posting at Helms Facility from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022. Payroll-year entries for 2021 and 2022 also record her as Correctional Superintendent, with no facility assigned in those records.

During her leadership tenure at Helms Facility, GPS's death registry attributes 12 deaths to that facility — eleven listed as Natural/Medical and one listed as Unknown/Pending. Every one of the twelve is recorded as having occurred while she held the Superintendent role there. The records carry no lawsuits naming her as a defendant, no intel reports or intel events logged at Helms Facility during her tenure, and no news mentions naming her. Her personnel status is listed as active.

What happened on their watch

Helms Facility — Superintendent, July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2022

All 12 deaths attributed to Cooper's leadership tenure occurred at Helms Facility, per the GPS death registry. The decedents ranged in age from 48 to 66; five were under 60. Eleven of the twelve registry entries list the cause as Natural/Medical, and one — the most recent — lists Unknown/Pending, meaning GPS does not yet know the cause. The registry shows a pronounced cluster in the final quarter of 2021: five deaths between October 14 and November 10, 2021. No lawsuits were filed against Cooper in connection with any of these deaths, and the records contain no allegations, audit findings, or intel reports tied to her time at the facility.

Those who died during her tenure at Helms Facility, per the registry:

• Eddie Jerry Fortner died October 19, 2020, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 61.
• Thomas Larry Pyburn died April 18, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 66.
• Richard Timothy Casper died May 28, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 53.
• Jerry Wayne Kunstbeck died June 6, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 59.
• Shirley Lyons died October 14, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. She was 63.
• Bryan Keith Mims died October 24, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 48.
• Terry Michael Sykes died November 1, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 60.
• Calvin Love died November 4, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 57.
• Franklin Odell Cantrell died November 10, 2021, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 64.
• Mitchell Lebron Dunn died January 26, 2022, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 60.
• Kenneth Clyde died February 25, 2022, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. He was 65.
• Walton Jerome Thomas died June 26, 2022, at Helms Facility; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. He was 56.

For her earlier Correctional Assistant Superintendent position, running January 1 through December 31, 2020, the records state only the title and dates; her Superintendent posting at Helms Facility began July 1 of that year and ran to June 30, 2022.

Sources

• Georgia Prisoners' Speak death registry — twelve deaths recorded at Helms Facility between October 19, 2020 and June 26, 2022, with cause categories and ages
• Georgia Department of Corrections position and payroll records — Correctional Assistant Superintendent (2020), Superintendent, Helms Facility (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2022), and Correctional Superintendent (2021, 2022 payroll years)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.