Fraser, Yolande

Tenure Summary

Yolande Fraser began her Georgia Department of Corrections career in behavioral health roles, working as a counselor and then as a Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor from 2015 through 2018. In 2019 she shifted into unit management at the Metro Reentry Facility in DeKalb County, and the following year she was promoted to Deputy Warden at that same facility, a post she held through 2023. Fraser subsequently moved to the Helms Facility in 2024, where she held both warden and deputy warden titles before being named Correctional Superintendent in early 2025. GPS records attribute 14 deaths to her leadership tenures — all of them at the Metro Reentry Facility during her time as Deputy Warden.

What happened on their watch

Metro Reentry Facility (Deputy Warden, 2020–2023)
During Fraser’s four years as Deputy Warden, 14 individuals died in the custody of the Metro Reentry Facility. GPS records and DeKalb County Medical Examiner case files detail a cluster of deaths where the majority were ruled natural, often involving older men with advanced, pre-existing illnesses. Among them: Roy Edward Harrell, 75, died from cancer and cardiac disease; Bobby C. Gayton, 81, from coronary artery disease; Charlie B. Bowen, 78, from metastatic prostate cancer complicated by cardiomyopathy; and David Lee Treadwell, 61, from stage III lung cancer. Two other deaths involved acute cardiac events — Farrell Todd Collins, 43, died of a myocardial infarction (toxicology detected non-contributory fentanyl and lorazepam), and Jerry Wayne McBride, 73, succumbed to cardio-respiratory arrest while COVID‑19 positive; a hospice bed could not be arranged before his death. Rebecca Lynn Harkins, 56, died from complications of hepatocellular carcinoma, and the initial manner was listed as undetermined after facility staff reportedly could not account for her last-known-alive time.

Six further deaths were assigned a cause category of 6, meaning the specific cause was not detailed in the available GPS records. Those decedents included younger individuals: Carl Frederick Ziegenbein (36), Christopher Pettis (31), and James Joseph Marino (40), along with Roy Edward Harrell (already mentioned natural), Rodney Laronn Mobley (55), Terrence Tyrece Taylor (49), Larry Jerome Fowler (59), and James Oscar Leachman (51). No lawsuits naming Fraser as a defendant were filed, and no formal investigative reports or news accounts have surfaced that link her directly to any unlawful conduct or systemic failures during this tenure.

Sources

• GPS records — position history and facility assignments for Yolande Fraser
• GPS record of deaths incident to Georgia Department of Corrections custody — 14 deaths attributed to the Metro Reentry Facility, 2020–2023
• DeKalb County Medical Examiner case files (via open‑records intake) — autopsy and manner‑of‑death determinations for Harrell, Gayton, Bowen, Collins, Harkins, McBride, and Treadwell

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Jun 14, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.