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Flowers, Karen Douglas
Status: active
Profile written August 9, 2026
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
Karen Douglas Flowers has held a series of security and supervisory posts in the Georgia Department of Corrections, beginning as Chief of Security at Lee State Prison in 2006 and progressing through Correctional Captain roles before becoming Deputy Warden at Lee in 2020. She served as Warden of Lee in 2022 and then moved to the state’s largest women’s prison, Pulaski State Prison, where she worked as Warden from January 2023 until April 2025. GPS records attribute 11 deaths to facilities during her leadership-level tenures — three at Lee State Prison and eight at Pulaski. One active lawsuit names Flowers as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Lee State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2020–2021; Warden, 2022)
While serving as Deputy Warden, three men died in custody: Anthony Wilbert Cheek (49) and Phillip E. Patterson (63) in March and April 2020, both coded as natural causes by GDC in data obtained through an open‑records request by the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project, and Pedro Perez-Robles (38) in May 2021, coded as suicide. No deaths were recorded during Flowers’ year as Warden at Lee. GPS records show no lawsuits or news allegations linked to her time at the facility.Pulaski State Prison (Warden, 2023–2025)
Under Flowers’ command as Warden, GPS records show eight women died: Sandra Sipsy (54) in January 2023, Pharina S. Peterson (75) in May 2023, Cynthia McCain (65) in September 2023, Sheila Britton (60) in September 2023, Ramada Lesha Butts (52) in April 2024, Tracy Michelle Graves (45) in May 2024, Lesley Bell Owens (49) in July 2024, and Stephanie Sabrina Gary (55) in March 2025. According to GPS cause‑category data, all but Gary’s death are listed as undetermined or pending; the Pulaski County coroner ruled Gary’s death natural (cancer).Flowers’ tenure coincided with ongoing federal scrutiny. A U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation that documented constitutional violations at Pulaski during 2022–2023 was active when she arrived. Facility‑level failures attracted press attention: the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that in January 2025, staff at Pulaski did not notice an incarcerated person had been stabbed until an outside caller alerted them, and the person said they had been assaulted by as many as 10 people hours earlier. In 2024, according to the AJC, Deputy Warden Alonzo L. McMillian was arrested and later terminated for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a prisoner. Though high‑profile medical‑neglect cases such as those of Mollianne Fischer and Bonnie Rocheleau occurred before Flowers’ arrival, the facility continued to face allegations of systemic problems during her watch.
Litigation
- Williams v. Oliver, Case No. 5:24-cv-00471, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, filed December 17, 2024. Status: pending (per court records).
Sources
- GPS Intelligence database — personnel history, death counts, and facility‑level details for Karen Douglas Flowers
- UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project — GDC custodial mortality coding (obtained via open records) for deaths at Lee State Prison
- Pulaski County Coroner — death determination for Stephanie Gary
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — reporting on McMillian arrest, unnoticed stabbing, DOJ investigation, and historical settlements at Pulaski
- U.S. Department of Justice — civil rights investigation findings at Pulaski State Prison
- CourtListener — docket for Williams v. Oliver
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 2 | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| Warden | PULASKI STATE PRISON | 2023-09-01 → 2025-04-15 |
| WARDEN 1 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-08-31 |
| Warden | LEE STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-08-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | LEE STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | LEE STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | LEE STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTION OPERATIONS | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Chief of Security | LEE STATE PRISON | 2006-01-01 → 2006-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:24-cv-00471 | GAMD | 2024-12-17 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
9 people died at facilities under Flowers, Karen Douglas's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-05 | STEPHANIE SABRINA GARY | 55 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2024-07-23 | LESLEY BELL OWENS | 49 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2024-05-16 | TRACY MICHELLE GRAVES | 45 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2024-04-16 | RAMADA LESHA BUTTS | 52 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2023-09-22 | SHEILA BRITTON | 60 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2023-09-03 | CYNTHIA MCCAIN | 65 | PULASKI STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-05-28 | PEDRO PEREZ-ROBLES | 38 | LEE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-04-04 | PHILLIP E PATTERSON | 63 | LEE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-03-26 | ANTHONY WILBERT CHEEK | 49 | LEE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
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