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Foster, Denisha Gauze
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 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
Denisha Gauze Foster began her Georgia Department of Corrections career as a correctional officer at Wilcox State Prison in 2007. After a break in service, she returned to GDC, holding unit manager positions at Telfair State Prison from 2021 through 2024, then became Deputy Warden and, since January 16, 2025, the Deputy Warden of Security at the same facility. GPS records attribute seventeen deaths to Telfair State Prison during Foster’s leadership tenures there—all occurring in 2025 and 2026 while she served as the facility’s top security official. Two federal lawsuits naming Foster as a defendant were filed in 2023 during her time as a unit manager; both were terminated without a recorded payout. The seventeen deaths, multiple homicides and suicides among them, unfolded at a prison that outside reporting described as dangerously understaffed and plagued by gang-driven violence.What happened on their watch
Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (January 16, 2025 – present) Seventeen incarcerated people died at Telfair State Prison while Foster held the Deputy Warden of Security role. GPS records show the deaths began on January 28, 2025, when Deandre Moody was killed; a Telfair County coroner record lists the cause and manner as pending autopsy, with an assault in the shower around 6:00 p.m. In the months that followed, the coroner and other sources documented a sequence of violent and unexplained fatalities. Ezra Dangelo Ford, 21, was found unresponsive on a mattress with stab wounds on March 25. On June 2, Lester James Smith, 45, died of a stab wound to the torso after a common-area attack. A month later, Malindzo Eddy Hatcher, 42, died from a stab wound to the chest following a fight captured on video; the coroner ruled the death a homicide. Preston C. Phelps, 28, was killed in a gang fight involving multiple people on December 13, 2025—an incident GDC’s Office of Professional Standards investigated as a homicide. Among the other deaths on Foster’s watch: Eric Bernard Haynes, 51, died of a heart attack; Robert Baker, 45, died by suicide (hanging, per a coroner determination); Tony Morales Adame, 32, died of a suspected drug overdose; and several others whose causes remained pending toxicology or autopsy results at the time of reporting.These deaths occurred against a backdrop of extreme staffing shortages and systemic dysfunction documented by outside sources. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Telfair State Prison was missing 76 percent of its essential workforce, leaving roughly three dozen officers to supervise about 1,400 prisoners. An earlier AJC opinion piece described Georgia’s prison system as “imploding under the weight of corruption, mismanagement, and brutality,” while a U.S. Department of Justice investigation had previously concluded that Georgia prisons are “gang-run” and riddled with regular violence and sexual assault. In an intel report, the AJC also noted that a claim against the state alleged De’ahmoz Oshmic Floyd was stabbed at Telfair in 2023 when no staff were present in the dorm—a death that preceded Foster’s deputy warden tenure but illustrates a persistent pattern of unsupervised violence in the facility.
Telfair State Prison — Unit Manager (2021–2024)
No GPS-attributed deaths at Telfair are linked to the period when Foster served as a unit manager. During these years, however, the facility experienced multiple homicides and incidents, including the fatal stabbing of De’ahmoz Oshmic Floyd in April 2023 and the stabbing of the warden during a contraband shakedown in March 2024. Two federal lawsuits naming Foster as a defendant were filed in 2023 during this phase of her career.
Litigation
- Thomas v. White, Case No. 3:23-cv-00100 (GASD). Filed December 21, 2023; terminated February 23, 2024. No monetary outcome recorded. Source: CourtListener.
- Hall v. Mcfarlane, Case No. 3:23-cv-00094 (GASD). Filed November 29, 2023; terminated March 4, 2024. No monetary outcome recorded. Source: CourtListener.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, death counts, and decedent details for Foster’s tenure.
- Telfair County Coroner records — cause and manner determinations, pronouncing officers, and investigation notes for multiple deaths at Telfair State Prison (2025–2026).
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Telfair’s staffing shortages, gang-driven violence, Georgia prison homicides, and the DOJ investigation into Georgia prisons.
- Solitary Watch — 2010 incident report of tactical officer violence at Telfair, cited to illustrate historical facility conditions.
- CourtListener — dockets for Thomas v. White and Hall v. Mcfarlane, confirming Foster’s defendant status and case outcomes.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Security | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2025-01-16 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| Unit Manager | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:23-cv-00100 | GASD | 2023-12-21 | terminated |
| 3:23-cv-00094 | GASD | 2023-11-29 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
17 people died at facilities under Foster, Denisha Gauze's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-10 | TAVARES ZAVOYD ATWELL | 41 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-21 | ERIC BERNARD HAYNES | 51 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-02 | KENNETH GEORGE HINTON | 41 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-12-29 | ELVIS NOE GARCIA-NELASCO | 38 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-12-13 | PRESTON C PHELPS | 28 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-10-12 | ROBERT BAKER | 45 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-09-14 | GARY CHAD THOMASON | 53 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-09-11 | ROBERT WAYNE MESSER | 63 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-09-10 | HENRY L GADSON | 60 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-07-22 | DAVID LANE CAMPBELL | 44 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-07-21 | MALINDZO EDDY HATCHER | 42 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-07-17 | THADDEUS JOVELL PERRY | 50 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-06-25 | TONY MORALES ADAME | 32 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-06-02 | LESTER JAMES SMITH | 45 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-04-12 | WILLIAM CLINTON WORLEY | 49 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-03-25 | EZRA DANGELO FORD | 21 | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-01-28 | Deandre Moody | — | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
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