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Graham, Michael
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 2026
Salary
$70,984
2025 · state payroll
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
Michael Graham began his Georgia Department of Corrections career as a corrections officer at Burruss Correctional Training Center in 2015, rising through the ranks as a lieutenant and unit manager before entering facility leadership. GPS records show that across his tenures as Deputy Warden at Dooly State Prison (2020–2021), Deputy Warden at Central State Prison (2022–July 2025), and Warden at Autry State Prison (July 2025–present), 37 deaths were attributed to facilities under his watch — 12 at Dooly, 20 at Central, and 5 at Autry. No lawsuits name Graham as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Dooly State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2020–2021)
During Graham’s two-year assignment as deputy warden, 12 incarcerated people died in custody. One, James Robb Yarbrough, died in August 2020 at age 46. According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, Yarbrough’s death was the subject of a medical malpractice allegation: his family claimed that staff allowed his diabetes to go uncontrolled for months, leading to diabetic ketoacidosis. Another in-custody death at Dooly drew the scrutiny of a coroner, who told the AJC that Carlos Omar Soldiew-Acosta’s body may have lain undiscovered for more than 24 hours before it was found. The deaths occurred as Dooly operated at 212% of its original design capacity, with a statewide correctional officer vacancy rate around 50%, a GPS report notes.Central State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2022–July 2025)
While Graham served as deputy warden, 20 people died at Central State Prison, including multiple homicides. GPS records and the AJC’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation confirm that Hollis Alan Bryant (28) died of sharp-force trauma to his left femoral artery in December 2023, and Marquis Lamar Johnson (26) died of a stab wound to the chest in the prison barbershop the same month. The following year, Leon Culver Kelly (47) was stabbed to death, a death confirmed by the coroner according to 13WMAZ. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported that severe staff shortages had allowed gangs to effectively run state prisons during this period, contributing to rising violence and leaving families without information about how their loved ones died. In March 2025, three former guards were accused of beating an inmate and attempting a cover-up, an event documented within Graham’s tenure.Autry State Prison (Warden, July 2025–present)
Since assuming the warden’s post, GPS records attribute 5 deaths to Graham’s leadership at Autry. All five were men between the ages of 61 and 86: James Melvin Tudor (86), Alton Anson Kelly (61), Richard Merritt (75), Chaudhry Abdul Rashid (74), and Richard Cleveland Castleberry (72). The causes of death have not yet been publicly released; all are listed with an undetermined cause category in GPS data.Sources
- GPS records — death totals, facility tenures, individual decedent identities and dates
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga. prison homicides: a list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” and “Prison system failures cost Georgia taxpayers millions” (medical malpractice allegation regarding Yarbrough, coroner’s statement on Soldiew-Acosta, homicide details for Bryant, Johnson)
- 13WMAZ — confirmation of Leon Kelly’s stabbing death at Central State Prison
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — reporting on staff shortages and violence during 2023 at Central State Prison
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | AUTRY STATE PRISON | 2025-07-16 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:22-cv-00248 | GAMD | 2022-07-05 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
37 people died at facilities under Graham, Michael's leadership.
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