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Jackson, Kendric
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 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
Kendric Jackson began his Georgia Department of Corrections career in 2015 as a correctional officer at Smith State Prison and rose through sergeant, lieutenant, and unit manager roles before serving as deputy warden at Dodge State Prison (2022) and Telfair State Prison (2023). In late 2024 he was promoted to warden at Calhoun State Prison, and from June 2026 onward he has held the warden post at Valdosta State Prison. During his leadership-tenure postings as deputy warden or warden, GPS records attribute 22 deaths to the facilities under Jackson’s authority: three at Dodge, eight at Telfair, eight at Calhoun, and three during his opening weeks at Valdosta. Several of those deaths were ruled homicides; a civil settlement for $3.2 million was reached with the family of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, who died of heat exposure at Telfair while Jackson was deputy warden. Jackson is named as a defendant in two federal lawsuits.What happened on their watch
Dodge State Prison (2022, Deputy Warden) Three incarcerated men died during Jackson’s year at Dodge. Douglas Anthony Forts died in an inmate fight in June; the coroner’s manner was left blank but GPS records treat the case as homicide. Hezekiah Cuyler died in September after a fight, with the coroner ruling the death a homicide, according to records obtained by GPS. Per an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, Cuyler’s cause was blunt force trauma to the head. The third death, Arnold Merle McDonald, followed a fall that caused a subdural hematoma; the coroner left the manner blank.Telfair State Prison (2023, Deputy Warden)
Eight deaths were recorded at Telfair during Jackson’s tenure. Among them, De’ahmoz Oshmic Floyd was stabbed to death in a dorm, and a claim against the state alleged no prison staff were present when several prisoners attacked him, according to the AJC. Kwesi Jamal Stultz died of multiple blunt-force head injuries in December, a death the Telfair County coroner ruled a homicide. The most publicized death was that of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, who collapsed in an outdoor recreation cage in July after five hours in a heat index around 105 °F; a lawsuit filed by his family alleged an officer responded to his pleas for help with “if he dies, he dies.” GDC originally reported the cause as “natural causes”; in 2026 the family reached a $3.2 million wrongful-death settlement with the state, according to 13WMAZ. An AJC opinion column highlighted that Telfair was then missing 76 percent of its essential workforce. Other deaths included Clifford Bagley (accidental overdose), Larry Adams (accidental fall), and Walter Jordan (natural causes from bronchopneumonia).
Calhoun State Prison (December 2024 – May 2026, Warden)
Eight deaths occurred while Jackson was warden. Two were homicides: Theodore Roundtree died from sharp-force abdominal trauma in January 2025, and Matthew Len Nutt from blunt force trauma in December 2025, both per Calhoun County death certificates obtained by GPS. The remaining deaths were attributed to natural causes or undetermined — including Jimmy McMullen (pancreatic cancer), Thomas Haugabook (intracranial hemorrhage), and others. During this period, GPS records document a systematic wave of 87 lifers transferred out of Calhoun in early 2026, overwhelmingly to close-security facilities. Two inmates were also convicted in January 2026 of running a nationwide wire-fraud and extortion operation from the prison using contraband cell phones. A U.S. Department of Justice report released in February 2026 described systemic violence and understaffing across GDC prisons, but its findings about prior Calhoun deaths predated Jackson’s wardenship.
Valdosta State Prison (June 2026 – present, Warden)
Within weeks of Jackson’s June 2026 arrival, three deaths were recorded: Antavious Bailey on June 21, Steven Bryant on June 23, and Ramon Ortiz on July 4. The GDC Office of Professional Standards opened investigations into the deaths of Bailey and Bryant. Also in July, GDC alleged that a viral TikTok video of a flooded cell was staged by an inmate. A drug-trafficking ring run by inmate Luis Ramirez from Valdosta had been indicted in May, before Jackson’s tenure, but an earlier AJC report noted that at least six correctional officers had aided another Valdosta inmate in a smuggling operation. In December 2025, before Jackson arrived, inmate Je’Vion Benham’s body was found two days after his homicide, a lag that the local coroner called a major security concern, per WTOC.
Litigation
- Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 2020, terminated November 2021 — Jackson was named as a defendant.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 2025, terminated March 2026 — Jackson was among the defendants.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel tenure, death counts, settlements, lifer transfer waves, coroner records obtained via open-records requests
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, opinion column on Telfair understaffing
- 13WMAZ — $3.2 million settlement report for Ramirez family
- Calhoun County death certificates (obtained by GPS) — Roundtree, Nutt
- Telfair County coroner certificates (obtained by GPS) — Stultz, others
- WTOC — Benham death and coroner criticism
- Yahoo.com / Associated Press — Valdosta drug trafficking indictment
- CourtListener — Daker v. Ward, Daker v. Oliver dockets
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2026 report on GDC prisons
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2026-06-01 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | CALHOUN STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Warden | CALHOUN STATE PRISON | 2024-12-16 → 2026-05-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-15 | |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | SMITH TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 1 | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 7:20-cv-00113 | GAMD | 2020-06-11 | terminated |
| 1:15-cv-00428 | GAND | 2015-02-12 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
22 people died at facilities under Jackson, Kendric's leadership.
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