Goettie, Michael L

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

Five deaths were ruled suicides by hanging, according to GBI autopsy reports obtained by GPS: Jeremy Lasean Walton (2021), Michael Glenn McKee (2021), Chad Walker Jeter (2021), Taylor Anthony Hunt (2024), and Justin Waymon Hollingsworth (2025). The September 2024 death of Taylor Hunt, 29, has drawn exceptional attention. Multiple intelligence reports collected by GPS allege that Hunt’s official suicide ruling is contradicted by physical evidence; the reports claim his body displayed ligature marks, broken bones, bruises, and puncture and stab wounds, suggesting homicide. These allegations, though unverified, are a focal point of scrutiny at the facility.

Three deaths were determined by the GBI medical examiner to be accidental toxic effects of methamphetamine: Caleb Sexton (2022), Timothy Brent Jenkins (2022), and William Joseph Smiley (2023). Both Jenkins and Smiley had a history of asthma and died after complaining of shortness of breath; Jenkins’ autopsy found crystalline foreign material in his airways alongside low-level methamphetamine. Each case indicated contraband drugs circulating inside the prison, a recurring issue GPS has noted across Georgia facilities.

Three deaths were attributed to natural causes. Randall Henry Baker (2023), 38, collapsed on his bunk from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, per GBI autopsy; David Edward Wood (2025) died of coronary heart disease complicated by influenza; and Randy Eugene Stewart (2025) succumbed to E. coli peritonitis from a perforated duodenum after two days in a Savannah hospital.

Two deaths remain cause-unknown: Shawn Remar Johnson (2024) and John Meeks (2026). Bradley Lyle Weitzel’s 2023 death received only a GBI consultation after the Tattnall County coroner’s referral was declined, leaving the cause permanently undetermined — a documented instance of the no‑autopsy pattern GPS has identified behind high rates of uncaused deaths statewide.

A guard stabbing allegation at Rogers State Prison surfaced in June 2026 GPS intelligence, though details are limited. The facility had two earlier state settlement payouts — $17,500 in 2019 and $75 in 2017 — both predating Goettie’s tenure.

Litigation

• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.) — Filed June 6, 2025; terminated March 30, 2026. The case named Goettie as a defendant; it closed without a monetary award.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel positions, facility‑level death totals, and death-in-custody data.
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy and consultation reports — obtained via open‑records requests, resolving many previously undetermined causes.
• Tattnall County coroner records — death certificates, investigative narratives, and case files for Rogers State Prison decedents.
• GPS intelligence reports — multiple entries documenting allegations about Taylor Hunt’s death and a guard stabbing incident.
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger — public records of liability payouts at Rogers State Prison in 2017 and 2019.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 2, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.