Foster, Denisha Gauze

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

One case in particular challenges the official record. Robert Baker, 45, was found hanging in his two‑person cell on October 12, 2025. The coroner ruled it a suicide, but a GBI autopsy later documented abrasions on both hands—including his knuckles—that are consistent with a fight. The autopsy also noted a discrepancy: the coroner’s report stated the death was witnessed, while the autopsy narrative said he was “found unresponsive.” GPS case notes further record that Deputy Warden Foster told Baker’s mother there had been an “altercation” and that he was the “only fatality,” a detail at odds with the GDC incident report that initially classified the death as “undetermined” and listed a second offender as directly involved.

Foster’s tenure coincided with a widely reported staffing meltdown. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution found that as of early 2025, Telfair had a 79% officer‑vacancy rate—leaving just 32 officers to supervise roughly 1,400 people. That chronic under‑resourcing, highlighted by the 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report on gang‑run Georgia prisons riddled with violence and sexual assault, provides the backdrop for the 19 deaths. Older incidents at the same facility, such as the 2023 heat‑related death of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano after a guard allegedly said “if he dies, he dies” (per 13WMAZ), and the 2023 sentencing of a Telfair sergeant for smuggling meth into the prison, had already cemented Telfair’s reputation as a dangerously under‑controlled institution.

Litigation

• Thomas v. White, No. 3:23‑cv‑00100, S.D. Ga., filed Dec. 21, 2023, terminated Feb. 23, 2024. Foster was named as a defendant while she was a unit manager at Telfair; the case was terminated without a reported payout.
• Hall v. Mcfarlane, No. 3:23‑cv‑00094, S.D. Ga., filed Nov. 29, 2023, terminated Mar. 4, 2024. Foster was a defendant; the case closed with no settlement amount recorded.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel positions, deaths attributed to Telfair State Prison during Foster’s deputy‑warden‑of‑security tenure
• Telfair County Coroner records — cause/manner determinations for Moody, Ford, Smith, Hatcher, Phelps, Baker, and others
• GBI Medical Examiner autopsy reports — Baker (hanging with unexplained knuckle abrasions), Campbell (methamphetamine intoxication), Messer (synthetic‑cannabinoid intoxication)
• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — reporting on 76–79% officer vacancy rates at Telfair SP, DOJ investigation findings, and systemic prison failures
• 13WMAZ — settlement for the 2023 heat death of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano and allegation of an officer’s “if he dies, he dies” remark
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — state liability payouts including $3.2M for the Ramirez Bibiano estate
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on violence and sexual assault in Georgia’s gang‑run prisons
• Court records via CourtListener — lawsuits Thomas v. White and Hall v. Mcfarlane

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 9, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.