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Fort, Karl D
On GDC's 2025 payroll
Profile written September 23, 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
Karl D. Fort appears in Georgia Department of Corrections personnel records beginning in 2015 in a correction administration post, moving into correctional superintendent appointments from 2016 through 2020, then into named facility leadership as Warden of Washington State Prison from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022. Warden-tier salary records continue for him through 2023 (Warden 1 in 2021 and 2022; Warden 3 in 2023), after which he appears in line custody roles as a CSM Correctional Officer 2 in 2024 and 2025, with a further officer entry dated Aug. 27, 2026 at Augusta State Medical Prison.
Three deaths are attributed to his leadership tenure, all of them at Washington State Prison. One lawsuit naming him as a defendant appears in the records: Tucker v. Duttlinger, filed Sept. 11, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and terminated Jan. 3, 2024, with no monetary outcome recorded. The records contain no news coverage naming Fort and no intelligence reports or events logged at his facility during his tenure.
What happened on their watch
Washington State Prison — Warden, July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022. Three deaths are attributed to Fort's tenure as Warden here: Latavious Lanier Kirkland, 31, on Dec. 21, 2020; David Terry Melton, 25, on Jan. 5, 2022; and Larry Elmo Laroche, 63, on March 28, 2022 — three days before his tenure ended. The three decedents, ranging in age from 25 to 63, are recorded under three different cause categories, and none carries a public narrative in the records reviewed. No intelligence reports or intelligence events at the facility are logged during his tenure, and no news reports naming Fort appear for this period.
Correctional Superintendent — 2016 through 2020. Fort held facility-lead-tier superintendent appointments in each of these years (annual records for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020), but no facility is assigned to those entries, and no deaths are attributed to them. A superintendent record for 2020 overlaps the first six months of his Warden posting at Washington State Prison as the records are structured.
Correction Administration — 2015. Fort held a staff-tier correction administration post during 2015; no deaths are attributed to it.
CSM Correctional Officer 2 — 2024 and 2025, and Aug. 27, 2026 at Augusta State Medical Prison. These are staff-tier, non-leadership records. No deaths, intelligence items or events are attributed to them here.
Litigation
- Tucker v. Duttlinger, No. 1:23-cv-00128 (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ga.) — filed Sept. 11, 2023; terminated Jan. 3, 2024. Fort is listed as a defendant. The filing postdates his Washington State Prison wardenship, which ended March 31, 2022. No settlement or judgment amount is recorded, and the case caption does not carry his name.
Sources
- Georgia Department of Corrections personnel and salary records — Fort's positions, 2015 through 2026, including the Warden posting at Washington State Prison (July 2020–March 2022)
- GPS mortality records for Washington State Prison — three deaths during Fort's wardenship: Kirkland (Dec. 21, 2020), Melton (Jan. 5, 2022), Laroche (March 28, 2022)
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia docket, via CourtListener — Tucker v. Duttlinger, 1:23-cv-00128
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| CSM Correctional Officer 2 | AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| WARDEN 1 | 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| Warden | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2020-07-01 → 2022-03-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2016-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:23-cv-00128 | GASD | 2023-09-11 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
3 people died at facilities under Fort, Karl D's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-28 | LARRY ELMO LAROCHE | 63 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2022-01-05 | DAVID TERRY MELTON | 25 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-12-21 | LATAVIOUS LANIER KIRKLAND | 31 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Warden |
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