Graham, Michael

Tenure Summary

Michael Graham entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a corrections officer at Burruss Correctional Training Center in 2015 and rose steadily through the ranks — lieutenant, unit manager, deputy warden — before being appointed Warden of Autry State Prison on July 16, 2025. GPS records show 35 deaths attributed to facilities where Graham held a leadership role across four postings: 11 at Dooly State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2020–2021), 20 at Central State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2022–early 2025), and 4 at Autry State Prison (Warden, 2025). The deaths span cause categories including homicide, natural causes, and at least one drug-related death. One civil rights lawsuit — Negrin v. Evans — was filed in the Middle District of Georgia during his Central State tenure and has since been terminated.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Dooly State Prison — Deputy Warden (2020–2021)

Graham held the Deputy Warden role at Dooly State Prison across 2020 and 2021, during which GPS records attribute 11 deaths to the facility. The majority fall in cause category 6 (unspecified/other); ages ranged from 46 to 73. The cluster of deaths in spring and summer 2020 — six between April and August — coincided with the early COVID-19 pandemic period, though no cause is specified in the records. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, James Robb Yarbrough, who died at Dooly on August 14, 2020, allegedly suffered from uncontrolled diabetes for months and died of ketoacidosis in a case alleging medical malpractice. A coroner alleged, per the AJC, that a separate Dooly prisoner (Carlos Omar Soldiew-Acosta, not listed among Graham's attributed deaths) may have been dead for more than 24 hours before his body was found. During Graham's tenure, WGXA reported that a corrections officer cadet pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 640 grams of pure methamphetamine into Dooly. GDC also confirmed at least one gang-related fight injuring multiple inmates during this period, per 13WMAZ and WGXA. GPS records show Dooly was operating at approximately 212% of its original 750-person design capacity, with a statewide correctional officer vacancy rate of approximately 50%.

Central State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–July 2025)

Graham served as Deputy Warden at Central State Prison for approximately three and a half years, the longest single posting in his career. GPS records attribute 20 deaths to the facility during this span. Three are recorded as homicides: Hollis Alan Bryant (age 28, December 17, 2023), whose cause of death the AJC lists as sharp force trauma to the left femoral artery; Marquis Lamar Johnson (age 26, December 18, 2023), who the AJC reports was stabbed in the prison barbershop on December 8 and died after cardiac arrest secondary to the stabbing; and Leon Culver Kelly (age 47, December 9, 2024), whom 13WMAZ reported was stabbed to death, with a coroner confirming multiple stab wounds. One death — Ricky Eugene Rogers (age 68, April 21, 2025) — is noted in GPS records as "Natural/Drug OD (C-bldg)." Matthew Maddox (no age recorded, January 28, 2025) is listed with a cause of "Cerebral Herniation due to Extremely High BP." Georgia Public Broadcasting reported that severe staff shortages at the facility had allowed gang members to effectively run Georgia state prisons, contributing to rising violence; GPB also reported that families of people who died in Georgia prisons were left without information about what happened to their loved ones. According to 13WMAZ, three former Central State guards were accused of beating an inmate and attempting a cover-up in March 2025, and a separate guard faced charges for falsely imprisoning four DFCS employees. The Negrin v. Evans civil rights lawsuit (5:22-cv-00248, GAMD) was filed in July 2022 during Graham's tenure and terminated in August 2023; no outcome amount is recorded.

Autry State Prison — Warden (July 16, 2025–present)

Graham was appointed Warden of Autry State Prison on July 16, 2025. GPS records attribute four deaths to the facility during his tenure: Alton Anson Kelly (age 61) and James Melvin Tudor (age 86), both on August 23, 2025; Richard Merritt (age 75) on October 20, 2025; and Chaudhry Abdul Rashid (age 74) on November 11, 2025. All four fall in cause category 6. No additional notes or source attributions are recorded for these deaths.

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Litigation

• Negrin v. Evans — Case No. 5:22-cv-00248, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Filed July 5, 2022; terminated August 7, 2023. No outcome amount recorded. Filed during Graham's tenure as Deputy Warden at Central State Prison. Per court records, Graham is listed among defendants; the nature of the claims is not further specified in GPS records.

(Note: GPS records list additional cases — including In Re Aflac Inc Data Breach Litigation, Michael Protack v. Delta Air Lines, In Re ACF Basin Water Litigation, Atlantic Pacific Equipment Inc v. Graham, United States v. Graham, and Smith v. Steak N Shake Operations Inc — but these cases do not appear on their face to relate to Graham's GDC role or the facilities he supervised. GPS records do not establish a connection between Graham and these matters beyond name association.)

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides investigation; medical malpractice/settlement reporting on Dooly State Prison; Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison infrastructure reporting; contraband and security failure reporting
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — December 2023 reporting on six prison deaths in one month; staffing crisis and gang control reporting; DOJ deliberate indifference reporting (October 2024)
• 13WMAZ — Leon Kelly stabbing at Central State Prison (December 2024); Central State Prison guard misconduct allegations (March 2025); Dooly State Prison gang-related fight reporting
• WGXA — Julius Deshawn Williams Jr. methamphetamine smuggling plea; Dooly State Prison gang-related fight reporting
• WALB — Abraham Rivas phone fraud scheme at Dooly State Prison
• GPS records — Death records, position/salary data, facility attributions, intel event log
• Court records (CourtListener) — Negrin v. Evans, 5:22-cv-00248, GAMD; additional case dockets listed in lawsuits table

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.