Hudson, Charles Leonard

Tenure Summary

Charles Leonard Hudson began his GDC career as a correctional officer at Macon State Prison in 2007, rising steadily through the ranks — sergeant (2016–2018), lieutenant (2019–2020), captain (2021–2022), and unit manager (2023–2024) — before being appointed Deputy Warden of Security at Dooly State Prison in August 2024, a role he continues to hold as of the record date. GPS records attribute 31 deaths at facilities during Hudson's leadership-tier tenures: 14 at Macon State Prison while he served as lieutenant in 2020, and 16 at Dooly State Prison since his arrival in August 2024 (one death, Joshua Parrott, appears in both overlapping role records and is counted once). No lawsuits in the structured records appear to be corrections-related civil-rights actions naming Hudson in his GDC capacity.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Macon State Prison — Correctional Lieutenant (2019–2020)

Hudson held the lieutenant rank at Macon State Prison throughout 2020, a year GPS records show was catastrophic for the facility. Fourteen deaths are attributed to his tenure period there: seven classified as homicides (cause category 3) and seven as other/natural causes (cause category 6). The AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation documents the following homicide causes: stab wound to torso (Raul Villegas, age 37, December 13); blunt and sharp force injuries to head and neck (Robbie Lee Brower, age 58, October 4); ligature strangulation (Bobby Edward Lee, age 38, July 13); asphyxia (Cody Dustin Silvers, age 39, May 23); multiple sharp force injuries (David Travis Dennis, age 34, May 13); stab wounds to neck and chest (Carrington Jwon Frye, age 23, March 20); stab wounds to upper torso (Rafael Becerra Blass, age 36, March 7); and sharp force injury to mouth/tongue (Johnny Young, age 24, January 27), per the AJC. The AJC also reports that Frye's mother alleged her son bled for more than half an hour before help arrived after being stabbed. A federal lawsuit, per the AJC, alleges Bobby Edward Lee Jr. was strangled by a convicted-murderer cellmate due to understaffing and indifference by prison officials; separately, the AJC reports that officials allegedly placed Lee in that cell despite his pleas for protection and that no officers responded until after he was dead. The AJC further reports that Kendrick Malik Brown's mother alleged he was placed with a known dangerous prisoner shortly before his scheduled release. A DOJ report cited by the AJC states that four gang members ran past an officer to a kitchen area and fatally stabbed a prisoner, indicating a failure to prevent the assault. The AJC reported that as of October 2024, roughly two-thirds of correctional officer positions at Macon State Prison were unfilled, and the coroner reported only five to eight officers staffing the entire facility when responding to deaths. The AJC also reported that low staffing allows gang influence to expand and that most locks at the facility do not work, enabling prisoners to fabricate weapons from wall and ceiling materials.

Dooly State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security / Deputy Warden (August 2024–present)

Hudson became Deputy Warden of Security at Dooly State Prison on August 16, 2024, and transitioned to the Deputy Warden title in January 2025. GPS records attribute 16 deaths at Dooly during his tenure (counting Parrott once): six classified as homicides (cause category 3) and nine as other causes (cause category 6), plus one noted as "Natural/Drug OD" (Timothy Glenn Williams, age 56, April 2025). Homicides include: Zeary Davante Davis, age 31, September 26, 2024 — a GPS user report states a witness watched him die bleeding on the dorm floor; Joshua Parrott, age 45, January 12, 2025 — GPS records note homicide by strangulation, with intel events indicating the death was initially classified as suicide before being reclassified; Horario Philmore, age 58, February 2, 2025 — GPS records classify as homicide, though intel events note the death was officially ruled suicide while inmate reports indicated strangulation; Darrow Brown, age 58, November 7, 2025 — a user report states Brown was killed on the walk while being escorted by an officer and was killed by a Crips gang member, and that Brown was not gang-affiliated; and Samuel Jacob Blackmon, age 40, January 19, 2026. The AJC reports that a coroner alleged Carlos Omar Soldiew-Acosta (who died June 22, 2024, before Hudson's arrival but during the broader tenure period of the facility) may have been dead for more than 24 hours before his body was found. Georgia Public Broadcasting reports that Cody Bailey alleges medical staff at Dooly put his father's treatment "on the back burner," contributing to a death from sepsis. The AJC reports that a prisoner at Dooly alleged that James Yarbrough suffered from uncontrolled diabetes for months before dying of ketoacidosis, in a case alleging medical malpractice.

GPS records show Dooly was holding 1,593 people in a facility designed for 750 — 212% of design capacity — as of early 2026, with a statewide correctional officer vacancy rate averaging 50%. WGXA reports that a corrections officer cadet, Julius Deshawn Williams Jr., pleaded guilty in December 2025 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after allegedly attempting to smuggle 640 grams of pure methamphetamine into Dooly. WALB reports that an incarcerated person, Abraham Rivas, allegedly operated a phone fraud scheme from inside Dooly, and that a source alleged correctional staff were aware of inmates running such schemes. GPS records document a sustained pattern of violent incidents at Dooly during Hudson's tenure: multiple stabbing incidents in March–April 2026 resulted in lockdowns and Life Flight transports, including a gang-related altercation on April 3, 2026 that sent six inmates to hospitals with three airlifted, and mass stabbings reported in D building on April 15, 2026, per GPS relay reports. GDC and media sources (WGXA, 13WMAZ) confirmed multiple fights were believed to be gang-related. Hudson himself was bitten on the thumb by an inmate during a handcuffing incident on December 8, 2025, per GPS intel events; he was treated at the facility.

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Litigation

The following cases list Hudson as a defendant in federal court. GPS records do not establish that any of these cases concern his GDC conduct; the subject matter of most appears unrelated to corrections.

• Williams v. Hudson, No. 1:11-cv-03542 (N.D. Ga.), filed October 18, 2011; terminated April 24, 2014. No outcome amount recorded.
• Castillo v. Building Cleaning Solutions Inc, No. 1:10-cv-03194 (N.D. Ga.), filed October 5, 2010; terminated September 22, 2011. Hudson named as defendant; subject matter appears unrelated to GDC.
• Conroy v. Amos, No. 4:18-cv-00033 (M.D. Ga.), filed February 12, 2018; terminated September 4, 2018. No outcome amount recorded.
• Rogers v. Gray Transportation Inc, No. 5:18-cv-00200 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 4, 2018; terminated April 21, 2020. No outcome amount recorded.
• Starstone National Insurance Company v. Hudson, No. 1:19-cv-02777 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 18, 2019; terminated September 11, 2020. No outcome amount recorded.
• In Re Equifax Inc Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:17-md-02800 (N.D. Ga.), filed December 6, 2017; terminated April 13, 2022. Mass MDL; Hudson's role as named defendant not specified in GPS records.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on Macon State Prison homicides (2020), Bobby Edward Lee Jr. strangulation lawsuit, Carrington Frye delayed response allegation, Kendrick Malik Brown cellmate allegation, DOJ kitchen stabbing finding, Macon staffing vacancy reporting, Dooly medical malpractice (Yarbrough), statewide homicide pace (2025)
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — Dooly State Prison medical indifference allegation (Cody Bailey/sepsis death)
• WGXA — Julius Deshawn Williams Jr. methamphetamine smuggling guilty plea at Dooly State Prison; gang-related fight reporting
• 13WMAZ — Gang-related fight at Dooly State Prison
• WALB — Abraham Rivas phone fraud scheme at Dooly State Prison; staff awareness allegation
• Solitary Watch — Macon State Prison hot water cut allegation during prisoner strike
• GPS records / GPS Case Management — Deaths during tenure (all facilities); relay-bot incident reports at Dooly State Prison (March–April 2026); overcrowding and staffing reports at Dooly; Joshua Parrott, Horario Philmore, Darrow Brown, Zeary Davis death records; Hudson thumb-bite incident (December 2025)
• CourtListener / Federal court records — Six civil cases listing Hudson as defendant (GAND, GAMD)

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.