King, Sheneca

Tenure Summary

Sheneca King has held supervisory and deputy-warden roles within the Georgia Department of Corrections continuously since at least 2011, rising from Captain and Unit Manager at Central State Prison through Deputy Warden postings at Dooly State Prison (2019–2021), Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP, 2022–2024), and the Special Management Unit (SMU, 2025–present), where she currently holds the title of Special Assistant to the Warden. GPS records attribute 85 deaths across her facility-deputy tenures at Dooly, GDCP, and the SMU — the large majority coded as cause-category 6 (unspecified/other), with at least five coded as homicide (cause-category 3) at GDCP alone. One lawsuit names King as a defendant. The facilities she has served as deputy warden have been the subject of DOJ scrutiny, AJC investigative reporting on undisclosed homicides, and documented systemic failures including severe overcrowding, staff shortages, contraband infiltration, and falsified records.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Central State Prison — Captain / Unit Manager (2011, 2013, 2016–2018)

King held unit-supervisor roles at Central State Prison across multiple years. The structured records do not attribute deaths to her tenure there at the unit-supervisor tier. However, the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides investigation documents two deaths at Central State: Hollis Alan Bryant, who was stabbed to death with three prisoners criminally charged, and Marquis L. Johnson, who was stabbed in the prison barbershop and later died of cardiac arrest secondary to the stabbing. The records do not specify whether these incidents fell within King's posting years. According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, severe staff shortages system-wide have allowed gang members to effectively run Georgia state prisons, contributing to rising violence.

Dooly State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–2021)

King served as Deputy Warden at Dooly State Prison across three calendar years. GPS records attribute 12 deaths during her tenure there, all coded cause-category 6. The AJC reported that a coroner alleged one prisoner — Carlos Omar Soldiew-Acosta — may have been dead for more than 24 hours before his body was discovered at Dooly. The AJC separately reported that James Robb Yarbrough (who died August 14, 2020, per GPS records) suffered from uncontrolled diabetes for months and died of ketoacidosis in a case alleging medical malpractice. According to WGXA, a corrections officer cadet pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 640 grams of pure methamphetamine into Dooly during the period overlapping King's tenure. GDC and media sources also documented gang-related violence at the facility. Per GPS records, Dooly operates at 212% of its original 750-person design capacity with a statewide correctional officer vacancy rate of approximately 50%.

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–2024)

King served as Deputy Warden at GDCP for three years. GPS records attribute 71 deaths during this posting — the largest concentration of her career. At least five are coded cause-category 3 (homicide), per AJC investigation notes: Boyd Williams (October 3, 2022), cause listed as manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head; Daniel Charriez (February 23, 2022), cause listed as delayed complications of traumatic brain injury over a four-month interval; Elmer W. Pless (May 15, 2023), cause listed as strangulation; Carrell D. Johnson (June 6, 2023), cause listed as chopping injuries of the head and sharp-force injuries of the torso; and Brandon Trace Burrell (January 28, 2024), who the AJC reported was assaulted by another prisoner while under the effects of methamphetamine and suffered numerous stab wounds. The remaining 66 deaths are coded cause-category 6. Ages of the deceased ranged from 25 to 78. Per GPS records, GDCP holds approximately 4,540 people in a facility designed for 800 — 568% of original design capacity — with medical, kitchen, shower, and counseling infrastructure unchanged since the original build. The AJC reported that consultants hired by the governor found almost every part of GDCP had been vandalized by prisoners. According to the AJC, a corrections officer at GDCP admitted to receiving thousands of dollars to provide a death row inmate with information on upcoming shakedowns and staff. The AJC also reported that a newly convicted prisoner possessed a homemade shank and contraband cell phone within days of arriving at GDCP, indicating security failures. A federal civil rights lawsuit — Allen v. Georgia Department of Corrections — was filed March 5, 2026, alleging medical neglect at GDCP resulting in the amputation of a prisoner's left hand and permanent damage to his right hand; King is not identified as a named defendant in that action per the structured records.

Special Management Unit — Deputy Warden / Special Assistant to the Warden (2025–present)

King moved to the SMU in January 2025 as Deputy Warden, transitioning to Special Assistant to the Warden in December 2025. GPS records attribute two deaths during her Deputy Warden tenure: Lashion Boddie, age 30, on September 2, 2025, and Michael Ogletree, age 33, on October 31, 2025, both coded cause-category 6. The SMU has been the subject of extensive documented systemic failures. According to the AJC, GDC officials falsified and backdated prisoner review forms to make required review hearings appear timely; prison records showed a deceased prisoner, Ricardo Daughtry, logged as attending activities after he had already been pronounced dead; and GDC failed to check on Daughtry for nearly seven hours despite a policy requiring checks every 30 minutes. The AJC further reported that GDC ran a stalling strategy to avoid complying with a federal court injunction regarding the SMU, with the defiance continuing for more than four years until the injunction expired. According to the AJC, the GDC obstructed DOJ investigators by refusing to release records, restricting prison visits, and hurriedly repairing buildings before federal investigators arrived. The DOJ found Georgia's prisons inhumane, with people being assaulted, stabbed, raped, and killed in woefully understaffed facilities, according to the AJC. The AJC also reported that an incarcerated person at the SMU — Arthur Lee Cofield Jr. — repeatedly acquired contraband cellphones even at the state's top-security prison, and that GDC learned of his financial crimes as early as 2018 but did not charge him until 2020.

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Litigation

• Miller v. Holt, No. 5:25-cv-00356 (U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia), filed August 25, 2025. King is named as a defendant. Status: pending. No outcome or settlement amount recorded.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides investigation; reporting on GDCP security failures, contraband, falsified GDC records, DOJ obstruction, and SMU injunction noncompliance
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on GDC medical neglect settlements and prison system failures
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — reporting on statewide staff shortages, gang control of prisons, and family notification failures
• WGXA — reporting on corrections officer cadet methamphetamine smuggling plea at Dooly State Prison; gang-related fight reporting
• 13WMAZ — reporting on Dooly State Prison gang-related fights; Central State Prison incidents
• WALB — reporting on phone fraud scheme operated from Dooly State Prison
• GPS records — positions table, deaths-during-tenure table, cause-category classifications
• CourtListener / GAMD court records — Miller v. Holt, No. 5:25-cv-00356

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.