Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Foulks, Rodney
Foulks, Rodney
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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
Rodney Foulks began his career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Valdosta State Prison in 2015. He advanced through sergeant and lieutenant posts at Georgia State Prison before returning to Valdosta as a unit manager in 2019. In 2023 he was assigned as unit manager at Smith State Prison, and the following year he was promoted to deputy warden—the facility’s second-in-command—a position he held through the end of 2025. GPS records attribute seven deaths to Foulks’ leadership tenure, all during his time as deputy warden at Smith State Prison. He is currently a Special Assistant to the Warden at Valdosta State Prison. Two federal civil‑rights lawsuits name him as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Foulks’ earlier unit‑manager postings—Valdosta State Prison (2019–2022) and Smith State Prison (2023)—carry no deaths directly attributed to his supervision in the GPS dataset. The entire tally of seven fatalities occurred while he served as deputy warden at Smith.Between February 2024 and October 2025, seven incarcerated men died at Smith State Prison:
- Donquerius Lamonte Mahone, 37, died on Feb. 4, 2024; the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation lists the cause as homicide.
- Gineli Antoine Gray, 31, died on Feb. 9, 2024 (cause category 6).
- Jaydrekus Cartez Hart, 34, died on June 16, 2024 (category 6); according to the AJC, Hart used a contraband firearm to shoot and kill Aramark employee Aureon Shavea Grace inside the prison kitchen before killing himself.
- Richard Jermine Williams, 43, died on Sept. 7, 2024 (category 6).
- Orlando Jordan, 36, died on Sept. 13, 2024 (category 6).
- Calvin Bernard Craft, 34, died on Dec. 14, 2024 (category 6).
- John Jacobs, 77, died on Oct. 25, 2025; the coroner’s record lists the cause as cardiorespiratory arrest due to sepsis with multiorgan failure, a natural death that occurred at East Georgia Regional Medical Center.
The deputy‑warden tenure unfolded within a facility that the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, The Marshall Project, and The Georgia Virtue described as severely understaffed—roughly two‑thirds of correctional officer positions stood vacant—and riddled with contraband cell phones. Reports assert that Warden Brian Adams, under whom Foulks served, was indicted in May 2026 on six felony counts including RICO, bribery, and making false statements linked to an inmate‑led contraband ring known as the Saint Laurent Squad. The indictment, widely covered by the AJC and The Georgia Virtue, alleged that inmate Nathan Weekes orchestrated homicides from inside the prison and that Adams accepted cash payments. These allegations pertain to the same period when Foulks held the deputy‑warden post.
Litigation
- Humphrey v. Moody, No. 7:24‑cv‑00006 (M.D. Ga., filed Jan. 22, 2024) – pending as of the latest GPS update.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25‑cv‑03191 (N.D. Ga., filed June 6, 2025) – terminated on March 30, 2026; no settlement or judgment amount is recorded.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — homicide list covering Smith State Prison deaths; understaffing and contraband investigations; Warden Adams’ indictment; the June 2024 shooting of Aureon S. Grace
- The Georgia Virtue — Grand Jury indictment of former Warden Adams; civil suit allegations of a criminal conspiracy
- The Marshall Project — understaffing crisis and failure to notice a decomposing body
- GPS records — position history, total death counts, and facility‑level attribution
- Coroner’s record for John Jacobs — natural death at East Georgia Regional Medical Center
- CourtListener — case filings for Humphrey v. Moody and Daker v. Oliver
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Special Assistant to the Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2026-05-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 7:24-cv-00006 | GAMD | 2024-01-22 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
7 people died at facilities under Foulks, Rodney's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-25 | JOHN JACOBS | 77 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-12-14 | CALVIN BERNARD CRAFT | 34 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-09-13 | ORLANDO JORDAN | 36 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-09-07 | RICHARD JERMINE WILLIAMS | 43 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-06-16 | JAYDREKUS CARTEZ HART | 34 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-02-09 | GINELI ANTOINE GRAY | 31 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-02-04 | DONQUERIUS LAMONTE MAHONE | 37 | SMITH STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
Submit a correction
If you are the named individual or an authorized representative and dispute information on this page, submit details below. Substantiated corrections are applied promptly. Disputes that remain unresolved are flagged on the profile.