Jackson, Kendric

Tenure Summary

Kendric Jackson entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Smith State Prison in 2015, rising through sergeant (2017), lieutenant (2018 at Smith, 2019 at Smith Transitional Center, 2020 back at Smith), and unit manager (Smith, 2021) before moving into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Dodge State Prison in 2022. A Deputy Warden posting at Telfair State Prison followed in 2023, with a one-day Dodge entry recorded on November 22, 2023 and a Deputy Warden assignment without a listed facility running through December 15, 2024. He became Warden at Calhoun State Prison on December 16, 2024, holding that post through May 31, 2026, and has been Warden at Valdosta State Prison since June 1, 2026, where a "Warden 3" entry is also recorded for August 27, 2026. His status is listed as active.

Across his leadership tenures, 23 deaths are attributed to his facilities: 8 at Telfair State Prison, 8 at Calhoun State Prison, 4 at Valdosta State Prison, and 3 at Dodge State Prison. Six of the 23 are classified in the death registry as homicides. Two federal dockets name him as a defendant; both terminated without a recorded payout. He was Warden at Calhoun when the U.S. Department of Justice findings on Georgia's prison system were reported in February 2026, and Warden at Valdosta when the Southern Center for Human Rights issued its October 2026 letter alleging unconstitutional conditions there.

What happened on their watch

Dodge State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2022 (3 deaths). Arnold Merle Mcdonald died December 22, 2022, at Dodge State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Hezekiah Cuyler died September 14, 2022, at Dodge State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide. Douglas Anthony Forts died June 2, 2022, at Dodge State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide — a record of the death describes acute traumatic amputation of a finger sustained during a fight.

Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2023 (8 deaths). Renel Janvier Whitfield died January 25, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Larry Adams died April 3, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Accident. Deahmoz Oshmic Floyd died April 18, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, and a claim filed against the state alleged he was stabbed by several prisoners when no prison staff were in the dorm. Clifford Lawrence Bagley died May 28, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose. Juan Carlos Ramirez died July 20, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Other — an account of the incident states officers placed him in a roughly 12-by-8.5-foot fenced outdoor cage with no shade while the heat index reached about 105°F, that he was left there roughly five hours, and that he reached the hospital with an internal body temperature of 107°F. The GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger records a state liability payout of $3,249,872.60 tied to Telfair State Prison for a 2023 incident, linked to the estate of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano. Walter Rakim Jordan died August 30, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Bobby Murray died December 21, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Kwesi Jamal Stultz died December 22, 2023, at Telfair State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide — a record of the death describes multiple injuries to the head. The same ledger records a separate $1,750 payout tied to Telfair State Prison for a 2023 incident involving Ryan Frank DeMon. During this tenure, in January 2023, Telfair sergeant Desiree Briley was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to a role in a drug-trafficking network, having helped a prisoner smuggle methamphetamine into the prison over at least two years.

Dodge State Prison — Deputy Warden, November 22, 2023; and Deputy Warden, 2024 posting without a listed facility through December 15, 2024. The records show these positions and dates.

Calhoun State Prison — Warden, December 16, 2024, through May 31, 2026 (8 deaths). Charles Owens died January 6, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Theodore Roundtree died January 19, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide. Gary Bernard Duncan died May 4, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Tyler Jackson died June 28, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Thomas Haugabook died September 25, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Matthew Len Nutt died December 21, 2025, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide. Jimmy Mcmullen died January 28, 2026, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Freddie Lee Patterson died May 13, 2026, at Calhoun State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.

Reporting during this tenure included WALB's February 13, 2026 coverage of DOJ findings — that Georgia fails to provide reasonable physical safety, that incarcerated people cleaned wounds with toothpaste, coffee grounds and dirt, that EMS responses were delayed an average of 30 minutes, that staff at Calhoun failed to follow classification and housing assignment procedures contributing to a 2022 homicide, that a Calhoun prisoner died of dehydration after staff shut off his water and did not deliver meals for two days, and that Georgia underreports homicides. Those findings cover 2018–2023, a period predating his Calhoun tenure. WALB also reported a Calhoun grievance alleging extortion and gang violence that was rejected as untimely, and the family of Willie Andrew Willis Jr. alleging he was thrown from a balcony and that nearly an hour passed before he was airlifted. AJC reporting in June 2025 described GDC's failure to submit drug evidence in at least 11 dismissed cases involving Calhoun, including the 2020 "Hot Pockets" arrests of officers Corlethia Lattimore and Imani Ferguson, whose charges were dismissed in July 2023. Records also name him in connection with the transfer of 87 lifers out of Calhoun, including 36 in the final week of March 2026, and with two Calhoun prisoners convicted in January 2026 of running a nationwide wire-fraud and extortion operation using contraband cell phones.

Valdosta State Prison — Warden from June 1, 2026 (4 deaths). Antavious Bailey died June 21, 2026, at Valdosta State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Steven Bryant died June 23, 2026, at Valdosta State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Ramon Daniel Ortiz died July 4, 2026, at Valdosta State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. James Edward Loren died August 13, 2026, at Valdosta State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. GDC's Office of Professional Standards said it was investigating the Bailey and Bryant deaths as standard procedure, with autopsies by the GBI crime lab. The Southern Center for Human Rights, in an October 1, 2026 letter to GDC reported by the AJC, alleged unconstitutional conditions at Valdosta — no working lights in most cells across at least eight housing units, cells without running water or working toilets, mold and vermin, temperatures above 100 degrees without air conditioning, a 73 percent officer vacancy rate as of May 2026, two officers on duty for the compound on January 27, 2026, and 72 of 106 cell locks non-compliant in a 2025 GDC audit. SCHR counted 25 deaths at the prison between January 1, 2025 and August 13, 2026, roughly 12 classified as alleged homicides and 6 as alleged suicides — a period longer than his tenure. GDC told the AJC it is reviewing the allegations and that $107 million has been allocated for Valdosta maintenance since fiscal year 2021, about $3.2 million spent. Other records from his tenure include an inmate report of a death with bleeding from the head (June 24, 2026), reports of gang-related violence with modified movement across facilities (June 2026), an inmate claim of poor living conditions and GDC's statement that a viral flooded-cell video was staged (July 2026), and a former supervisor's public comment alleging understaffing and retaliation for refusing to falsify staffing records.

Litigation

• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (GAND), filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026; no outcome amount recorded.
• Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (GAMD), filed June 11, 2020, terminated November 3, 2021; no outcome amount recorded.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Valdosta conditions reporting (Oct. 2026); Calhoun smuggling-case dismissals (June 19, 2025); Georgia prison homicide list and DOJ coverage (Jan. 21, 2025)
• WALB — DOJ findings and Calhoun deaths, including the Willis balcony fall (Feb. 13, 2026)
• Southern Center for Human Rights — 14-page letter to GDC dated Oct. 1, 2026, on Valdosta State Prison conditions
• WRDW — GDC statement on viral flooded-cell video (July 23, 2026)
• U.S. Department of Justice — findings on GDC prison conditions, 2018–2023
• CourtListener dockets — Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order; Daker v. Ward
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — Telfair State Prison payouts, 2023
• GPS case submissions — Valdosta and Calhoun incident reports (2026)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 8, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.