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Major, LEE
Status: active
Profile written June 21, 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
Lee Major rose through the Georgia Department of Corrections ranks across more than a decade, holding staff and supervisory roles at multiple facilities before assuming the Deputy Warden of Security post at Dooly State Prison in January 2025. GPS records attribute 11 deaths at Dooly during Major’s facility-deputy tenure, spanning from the day he became deputy warden through April 2026. In addition, court records show Major has been named as a defendant in five federal lawsuits, several of which were filed years before he reached Dooly.What happened on their watch
Major first held authority at Dooly as DEPUTY WARDEN from January 1–15, 2025; on January 12, Joshua Parrott, 45, died there — GPS records list the cause as homicide by strangulation. Major assumed the role of Deputy Warden of Security on January 16 and remained in that position as the remaining ten deaths occurred. Horario Philmore, 58, was killed in a homicide on February 2, 2025. Timothy Glenn Williams, 56, died on April 17, 2025, marked as natural or drug overdose. Four more deaths followed before year’s end: Orlando Perez Glass, 49 (August 17); Marshall Davis Crews, 69 (September 19); Willie Mote, 70 (October 14); and Paul Counts, 60 (October 30). The cause category for these four is unspecified in GPS data.In November 2025, Darrow Brown, 58, was killed “on the walk” while being escorted by an officer, according to a user report filed with GPS; the report identifies his killer as a gang member and notes Brown was a civilian not affiliated with a gang. Dexter Andres Levy, 32, died on November 16. In 2026, Samuel Jacob Blackmon, 40, died on January 19, and Martez Desmond Terry, 42, on April 29.
The deaths accumulated amid a backdrop of severe institutional strain. Reports compiled by GPS show Dooly State Prison was operating at 212 % of its original design capacity while the statewide correctional officer vacancy rate hovered near 50 %. An investigation flagged housing units with no officer present for hours or entire shifts as of November 2025. News-media allegations documented by GPS during Major’s tenure include an inmate’s claim that correctional staff were aware of fraud schemes run from inside the prison (per Wesh.com and WALB), and a corrections officer cadet’s arrest in December 2025 after 640 grams of pure methamphetamine were found on him during a routine search at Dooly, according to WGXA. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a coroner’s allegation that a prisoner at Dooly may have been dead for more than 24 hours before his body was discovered, and a separate AJC report described an allegation that medical neglect allowed a man to die of ketoacidosis at the facility.
Major’s watch was also punctuated by mass violence. On March 23, 2026, a gang-related fight left five inmates injured; on April 1, six inmates were injured in another gang-related altercation, three airlifted; and on May 22, a gang-related fight involving nine inmates prompted a statewide lockdown of all GDC facilities. GPS records further document stabbing incidents reported via Telegram relays in April 2026, including life-flight dispatches.
Litigation
- Dorsey v. Lee, 5:21-cv-00435 (GAMD, filed Dec. 7, 2021, terminated Nov. 7, 2024).
- Lee v. Correct Care Solutions Llc, 1:19-cv-00012 (GASD, filed Jan. 24, 2019, terminated June 26, 2020).
- Nichols v. Walmart Inc, 1:24-cv-00236 (GASD, filed Dec. 18, 2024, terminated Apr. 23, 2025).
- Mccarthian v. Melton, 1:11-cv-02654 (GAND, filed Aug. 10, 2011, terminated Sept. 10, 2014).
- Childs v. Thurman, 3:11-cv-00075 (GAMD, filed May 31, 2011, terminated July 10, 2012).
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, death attributions, and user-submitted reports
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on death investigation delays, medical neglect allegations, and systemic deficiencies at Dooly State Prison
- WGXA — cadet methamphetamine smuggling case at Dooly
- Wesh.com, WALB, news-journalonline.com — inmate fraud allegations implicating staff awareness at Dooly
- GPS intelligence events — gang-related fights, staffing collapse investigations, and institutional lockdowns
- CourtListener — federal dockets in which Lee Major is listed as a defendant
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Security | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2025-01-16 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 1 | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| Security Management Response Team member | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 | |
| Tactical Squad | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2010-01-01 → 2010-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:24-cv-00236 | GASD | 2024-12-18 | terminated |
| 5:21-cv-00435 | GAMD | 2021-12-07 | terminated |
| 1:19-cv-00012 | GASD | 2019-01-24 | terminated |
| 1:11-cv-02654 | GAND | 2011-08-10 | terminated |
| 3:11-cv-00075 | GAMD | 2011-05-31 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
11 people died at facilities under Major, LEE's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-29 | MARTEZ DESMOND TERRY | 42 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-19 | SAMUEL JACOB BLACKMON | 40 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-11-16 | DEXTER ANDRES LEVY | 32 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-11-07 | DARROW BROWN | 58 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-10-30 | PAUL COUNTS | 60 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-10-14 | WILLIE MOTE | 70 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-09-19 | MARSHALL DAVIS CREWS | 69 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-08-17 | ORLANDO PEREZ GLASS | 49 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-04-17 | TIMOTHY GLENN WILLIAMS | 56 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-02-02 | Horario Philmore | 58 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-01-12 | Joshua Parrott | 45 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
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