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Marcus, Charlie J
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 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
Charlie J Marcus joined GDC as a correctional officer in 2015, became a sergeant in 2016, served as correctional lieutenant from 2017 through 2019, and then as correctional unit manager from 2020 through 2022. In January 2023, GPS records place him as deputy warden at Valdosta State Prison, a role he holds through the most recent records in 2026. GPS records attribute 42 deaths to Valdosta State Prison during his facility-leadership tenure; the per-facility count is 42. One pending federal lawsuit names Marcus as a defendant: Williams v. Marcus, filed Nov. 6, 2024, in the Middle District of Georgia. GPS records also note a $2,000 state liability payout tied to a 2025 Valdosta incident in the Georgia DOAS settlement ledger.What happened on their watch
Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden, January 2023 onward
GPS records attribute 42 deaths at Valdosta State Prison during Marcus’s tenure. Documented causes include ligature strangulation, sharp-force trauma, blunt-force trauma, stabbing, and suicidal hanging. Among the named decedents are Rufus Lane (Jan. 13, 2024, ligature strangulation, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Ricky Harris (Feb. 20, 2024, sharp-force face and neck trauma, per AJC), Melvin Towns (Apr. 21, 2024, homicide during a disruptive event, per AJC and GDC incident data), Shane Griffith (May 30, 2024, blunt-force trauma; 11 inmates charged with murder, per AJC), Sinjuan Harmon (Jan. 12, 2025, homicide by strangulation, per GDC January 2025 mortality data), William Springer (Sept. 16, 2025, stabbed in the face and head; family alleged delayed staff response, per WALB), and Jevion Benham (Dec. 24, 2025, coroner ruled strangulation homicide after the body went undiscovered for about two days, per WALB/WTOC). GPS records also document Anthony Prothro’s Apr. 7, 2025 death as suicide by hanging, confirmed by a GBI medical examiner’s report. Many other death records in the extract carry unknown or pending cause categories; GDC monthly mortality reports often confirm the fact of death only. A later Aug. 13, 2026 report for James Loreno is marked as an unverified user report with probable identification, pending official confirmation.
During the same period, broader facility patterns appear in GPS records. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Valdosta State Prison was operating with roughly 80% of correctional officer positions vacant, and Described it as among the state’s deadliest and most understaffed prisons. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report referenced in GPS records found Georgia prisons violate the Eighth Amendment due to widespread violence, understaffing, and systemic deficiencies. In March 2024, Operation Skyhawk led to arrests of seven officers, including six GDC officers, tied to an alleged contraband scheme run by a Valdosta prisoner. A May 2026 federal indictment alleged that inmate Luis Ramirez directed a methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking network from the facility using contraband cellphones. GPS records also include 2025 reports of inhumane caged housing, lack of toilet access, and gang control of food distribution at Valdosta, along with a former supervisor’s public Facebook comment alleging pressure to falsify staffing reports and retaliation by a deputy warden.
Litigation
- Williams v. Marcus, No. 7:24-cv-00102, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, filed Nov. 6, 2024; status pending. The record does not list a disposition or outcome amount.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; Operation Skyhawk contraband scheme; Valdosta staffing, corruption, and deaths coverage.
- WALB — reporting on William Springer, Brandon McGee, Sinjuan Harmon, Jevion Benham, and coroner statements.
- WTOC — Jevion Benham death and Coroner Austin Fiveash’s criticism of the discovery delay.
- WRDW — Valdosta flooded-cell video allegation.
- Yahoo News — 2026 federal drug-trafficking indictment linked to Valdosta State Prison.
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on Eighth Amendment violations in Georgia prisons, as referenced in GPS records.
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia — Williams v. Marcus docket.
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner records and GDC monthly mortality reports, as cited in GPS records.
- Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — $2,000 payout tied to a 2025 Valdosta incident.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2020-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2017-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:24-cv-00102 | GAMD | 2024-11-06 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
42 people died at facilities under Marcus, Charlie J's leadership.
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