Foulks, Rodney

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

Smith State Prison — Deputy Warden (2024‑2025)

The coroner’s report for John Jacobs notes he died at an outside hospital after a series of abdominal surgeries and intensive care. Tattnall County Deputy Coroner Daniel Bennett, who obtained the full medical record, stated in the report his professional opinion “that any death occurring within the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections warrants independent third‑party review of all records.”

During Foulks’ Deputy Warden tenure, Smith State Prison was the subject of extensive investigative reporting and public allegations. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution described it as one of the most understaffed and violent facilities in the state, with roughly two‑thirds of correctional officer positions unfilled. According to multiple outlets, a contraband‑trafficking ring known as the “Saint Laurent Squad” operated inside the prison; inmate Nathan Weekes is alleged to have led the scheme and orchestrated three murders from behind the walls, including the mistaken‑identity killing of an 88‑year‑old man outside the prison. Former Warden Brian Adams was later indicted on RICO and other felony charges for allegedly accepting currency and facilitating the contraband network. These criminal allegations reached their most visible culmination in June 2024, when inmate Jaydrekus Hart (himself among the seven deceased) shot and killed Aramark food service employee Aureon Shavea Grace with a gun that had been smuggled into the prison, before taking his own life. A lawsuit filed by Grace’s family alleges staff had been warned repeatedly about a firearm on the premises.

The contraband and corruption allegations, the severe understaffing, and the seven deaths on Foulks’ watch all unfolded against a backdrop of broader systemic findings: The Marshall Project reported that incarcerated people routinely faced long waits for medical care, weeks without recreation, and that staff were so overburdened they sometimes failed to discover a deceased person for days. The Georgia Virtue and AJC accounts document that high‑level staff enabled, or failed to stop, the importation of cell phones, narcotics, and weapons. GPS intelligence records further capture a system‑wide lockdown of all GDC facilities in April 2026 triggered by a gang‑related altercation at Smith State Prison, underscoring the volatility that marked the facility during Foulks’ time as Deputy Warden.

Litigation

• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order (1:25‑cv‑03191, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia), filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026.
• Humphrey v. Moody (7:24‑cv‑00006, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia), filed January 22, 2024, still pending. Both suits name Rodney Foulks as a defendant.

Sources

• GPS personnel and deaths records
• Coroner’s record for John Jacobs (Tattnall County, 2025)
• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — multiple investigations of Smith State Prison homicides, contraband, understaffing, and the Brian Adams RICO case
• The Georgia Virtue — Tattnall County grand jury indictments and civil suit allegations
• WTOC — former Smith State Prison employee charged with sexual assault
• The Marshall Project — reporting on staffing shortages and conditions
• WALB — family allegations regarding attack at Valdosta State Prison (contextual)
• In These Times — prisoner‑strike allegations at Smith State Prison
• CourtListener dockets for Daker v. Oliver and Humphrey v. Moody

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 31, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.