Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Dykes, Heather
Dykes, Heather
Status: active
Profile written June 28, 2026
Salary
$39,180
2025 · state payroll
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
Heather Dykes began her employment with the Georgia Department of Corrections in non‑leadership financial roles at Dooly State Prison, where she served as a Financial Operations Generalist 2 (2023) and an Accounting Technician 3 (2024–mid‑2025). In August 2025, Dykes was appointed Deputy Warden of Administration at McRae Women’s Facility, a facility‑level leadership post she currently holds. GPS records attribute four deaths to her tenure at McRae — all in 2026. No deaths are attributed to her prior tenures at Dooly, and no lawsuits have been filed against her.What happened on their watch
Dooly State Prison (2023–2025)
Dykes held support‑staff positions with no documented leadership accountability during her years at Dooly. Nevertheless, the facility experienced severe systemic dysfunction throughout that period. GPS event logs and media reports describe a prison operating at 212% of its design capacity while facing a 50% statewide correctional‑officer vacancy rate; housing units were often left without officer supervision for hours or entire shifts. Inmate‑on‑inmate violence was recurrent: gang‑related fights on March 23, 2026, sent five to the hospital; another on April 1 injured six, three of whom required airlifting; and a May 22 altercation injured nine, triggering a statewide lockdown. Staff misconduct surfaced in parallel — a cadet pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 640 grams of pure methamphetamine into the prison, and inmate Abraham Rivas allegedly operated a phone‑based fraud scheme that Rivas claimed staff knew about. Separately, the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported a coroner’s allegation that a decedent had lain dead for more than 24 hours before being found, and Georgia Public Broadcasting documented a medical‑neglect claim by the son of an inmate who died of sepsis. While none of these deaths are attributed to Dykes’ roles at Dooly, they sketch the environment in which she worked before moving to McRae.McRae Women’s Facility (August 2025–present)
Since assuming the Deputy Warden of Administration role, Dykes’ facility has recorded four deaths, all in 2026 and all with a cause‑category of 6. Per GPS records, the decedents are:- Beverly Suzanne Sipple, 59 (March 16)
- Kristal Lyn Layne, 55 (May 10)
- Shannon Michelle Rush, 43 (May 16)
- Chasity King, 26 (May 18)
No additional details about the deaths, lawsuits, or specific allegations against Dykes at McRae appear in the available data.
Litigation
No lawsuits are recorded against Heather Dykes.Sources
- GPS internal records (position history, death logs, intel events, incident reports)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution (coroner’s allegation, medical‑malpractice claims)
- Georgia Public Broadcasting (medical‑neglect allegation)
- WGXA (corrections‑cadet methamphetamine smuggling)
- Wesh.com (inmate fraud scheme, staff awareness claim)
- News‑journalonline.com (inmate fraud scheme)
- WALB (inmate fraud scheme, commissary account allegations)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Administration | McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | 2025-08-16 → present |
| ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 3 | 2025-01-01 → present | |
| ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 3 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 2 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
4 people died at facilities under Dykes, Heather's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-18 | CHASITY KING | 26 | McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | Deputy Warden of Administration |
| 2026-05-16 | SHANNON MICHELLE RUSH | 43 | McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | Deputy Warden of Administration |
| 2026-05-10 | KRISTAL LYN LAYNE | 55 | McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | Deputy Warden of Administration |
| 2026-03-16 | BEVERLY SUZANNNE SIPPLE | 59 | McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | Deputy Warden of Administration |
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