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Jester, Teketa
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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
Teketa Jester began her Georgia Department of Corrections career as a sergeant at West Central Integrated Treatment Facility in 2003, holding staff and unit‑supervisor roles until 2020. In 2021 she became deputy warden, and in mid‑2023 she ascended to facility‑lead positions — warden at Central State Prison from July 2023 to December 2024, and concurrently warden at Baldwin State Prison from January 2024 onward. During her leadership tenures at these two prisons, GPS records attribute 41 deaths to the facilities under her watch: 13 at Central State Prison and 28 at Baldwin State Prison.The deaths include multiple homicides, among them the stabbing deaths of Hollis Alan Bryant and Marquis L. Johnson at Central in December 2023, the killing of Leon Culver Kelly at Central in December 2024, and the sharp‑force trauma homicide of Vincent Reshad Dyer at Baldwin in August 2024. Jester’s tenure coincided with a period of intense scrutiny: the U.S. Department of Justice opened a statewide investigation into violence and conditions in Georgia prisons in 2021, and media reports and federal indictments documented widespread contraband smuggling by staff, understaffing, and gang‑driven violence at both facilities. No lawsuits name Jester as a defendant.
What happened on their watch
Central State Prison (Deputy Warden, January–June 2023)
In her first six months as deputy warden, three men died of natural causes at Central State Prison: Jerry H. Page, Trong Nghia Tran, and Clifford Oby Booth. At the time, the AJC had already declared 2023 the most violent year in Georgia prisons since before the pandemic.Central State Prison (Warden, July 2023–December 2024)
As warden, Jester oversaw a facility that recorded ten more deaths, including two high‑profile homicides. On December 17, 2023, Hollis Alan Bryant, 28, died from sharp force trauma to the left femoral artery; according to the DOJ report, three other prisoners were criminally charged in connection with his death. The following day, Marquis Lamar Johnson, 26, died after cardiac arrest secondary to a stabbing he sustained in the prison barbershop on December 8, 2023, per the AJC’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation. The killings drew attention to severe staff shortages that, per Georgia Public Broadcasting, allowed gang members to effectively run the prison. Another homicide followed in late 2024: Leon Culver Kelly, 47, was stabbed to death on December 9, 2024, as confirmed by 13WMAZ.The remaining deaths during Jester’s warden tenure at Central were attributed to natural causes, including those of Leonardo Llamas, Joseph Akins, Adel Eackles, Deanthony Fleming, Jeremiah Taylor, Thomas Kiker, and Anthony Baugher. In March 2025 — shortly after Jester’s tenure at Central ended — three former guards were accused of beating an inmate and covering it up; in December 2025, a guard was charged with falsely imprisoning DFCS employees over child support disputes, according to 13WMAZ.
Baldwin State Prison (Warden, January 2024–present)
At Baldwin, where Jester has been warden since the start of 2024, GPS records 28 deaths during her leadership. The first documented homicide under her watch was Vincent Reshad Dyer, 50, who died on August 21, 2024 from sharp force chest trauma after being stabbed by multiple inmates. In January 2025, Henry Finley died from multiple puncture wounds in a homicide. Another death that prompted an investigation was that of Ricky Carroll Mathis, 38, on April 5, 2026; the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards opened an inquiry, though no altercation was initially apparent. The majority of the 28 deaths were natural, including those of Clint Shelley, William Moore, Anthony Wynn, Lonnie Inman, Tyrone Level, Fred Lewis, Richard Davenport, Jerry Hulsey, Michael Brown, James Floyd, Almir Harris, Walter Brown, Mark Miller, Douglas Salter, Cedric Phillips, Jack Eubanks, Melvin Greene, Leroy Keye, Ronald McGhee, Derek Boyd, James Dailey, Richard Timmons, and Artinez Ceasar.During Jester’s tenure, Baldwin was plagued by violence and staff misconduct. In March 2025, officer Akeim Burgest alleged he was shanked by an officer after a water bottle was thrown at him, while a lieutenant stood by; 13WMAZ reported that a federal judge ordered preservation of evidence in the case. The AJC documented a correctional officer smuggling K‑2‑laced papers for a Bloods gang member at Baldwin, and an earlier federal indictment charged 23 Sex Money Murder defendants — including three former Baldwin officers — with murders, drug trafficking, and fraud orchestrated from inside the prison. Those systemic problems, combined with chronic understaffing, prompted advocates to protest outside the Governor’s Mansion in 2023, accusing the system of medical neglect and an inability to keep incarcerated people safe from violence.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (2023 deaths of Hollis Bryant, Marquis Johnson; 2024 DOJ report)
- 13WMAZ — coverage of Burgest shanking lawsuit, Mathis death investigation, Central State inmate fight (2025–2026)
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — report on understaffing and gang control in Georgia prisons (December 2023)
- Department of Justice — investigation into violence in Georgia state prisons (announced 2021; findings referenced in AJC reporting)
- Federal indictment — 23 Sex Money Murder defendants, including Baldwin State Prison former officers (November 2023)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 2 | BALDWIN STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Warden | BALDWIN STATE PRISON | 2024-11-16 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | BALDWIN STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-11-15 |
| Warden | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2023-07-01 → 2024-12-15 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-06-30 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2017-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | WEST CENTRAL INTEGRATED TREATMENT FACILITY | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Sergeant | WEST CENTRAL INTEGRATED TREATMENT FACILITY | 2003-01-01 → 2003-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
41 people died at facilities under Jester, Teketa's leadership.
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