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Gardner, 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 Gardner began his career with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a correctional officer, holding staff and supervisory roles — sergeant, lieutenant, unit manager — before advancing to Deputy Warden at Baldwin State Prison in 2024. GPS records attribute 28 deaths to his leadership tenure at that facility, all occurring while he served as a facility deputy leader from 2024 into 2026. The deaths span a range of causes, including multiple homicides and a documented death from diabetic ketoacidosis after an alleged denial of medical care.What happened on their watch
Gardner became Deputy Warden at Baldwin State Prison on January 1, 2024. During his first year, 13 incarcerated people died. The earliest recorded fatality was Clint Donovan Shelley, 50, on January 17; the year ended with 23-year-old Almir Harris, an autistic man with Type 1 diabetes, who died from diabetic ketoacidosis on December 31. GPS event records state that Harris died after being “denied essential medical care.” In August 2024, Vincent Reshad Dyer, 50, was killed: his death was classified as a homicide caused by sharp force chest trauma following a fight. The remaining eleven deaths that year were attributed to natural causes.In 2025, seven more deaths were added. Henry Finley died on January 19 from a homicide by multiple puncture wounds. The others, ranging in age from 48 to 87, all fell under a natural-cause classification. The facility’s death toll continued into 2026, with eight additional fatalities by July 3 of that year, including Ricky Mathis (whose death is listed as cause category 3, a non‑natural, non‑homicide category) and Isaac Evan Robinson. GPS records include a report from a social-media source alleging that Robinson was held in protective custody and that officers routinely dragged inmates who feared for their lives back to their housing units; the source stated, “The wardens are no fking joke and the warden over care and treatment does not care.”
Baldwin State Prison under Gardner’s tenure also saw significant allegations of violence and misconduct. In March 2025, inmate Akeim Burgest filed a lawsuit claiming that an officer threw a water bottle at him and later stabbed him with a shank while a lieutenant stood and watched. A federal judge subsequently ordered the Georgia Department of Corrections to preserve all records and camera footage in the case. The facility operated within a broader context of chronic contraband smuggling — highlighted by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealing that former correctional officer Tracey Wise admitted to smuggling K‑2‑laced papers into Baldwin for a gang leader — and a U.S. Department of Justice civil investigation into prison conditions that had been underway since 2021. Advocacy protests during this period accused the system of understaffing, medical neglect, and a failure to protect incarcerated people from violence.
Litigation
No lawsuits naming Rodney Gardner as a defendant appear in GPS records.Sources
- Georgia Prisoners’ Speak Deaths Database — 28 deaths recorded at Baldwin State Prison during Gardner’s tenure as Deputy Warden (2024‑2026).
- GPS Intelligence Events — Almir Harris death summary; Akeim Burgest lawsuit and federal preservation order; Ricky Mathis death investigations; Vincent Reshad Dyer homicide classification.
- 13WMAZ — Reporting on the Burgest shanking allegation and resulting lawsuit (2026).
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Investigations into Georgia prison homicides, staff contraband smuggling (including the Tracey Wise case), and gang activity inside Baldwin State Prison.
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — Settlements at Baldwin State Prison (referenced for historical context, though none during Gardner’s tenure).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | BALDWIN STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2021-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2018-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:19-cv-00002 | GAMD | 2019-01-02 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
28 people died at facilities under Gardner, Rodney's leadership.
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