McAlister, Christopher A

Tenure Summary

Christopher A. McAlister entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a corrections officer (SP), then moved through correctional lieutenant (2016) and correctional unit manager (2017–2020). In 2021 he became Deputy Warden at Hays State Prison, a post he still holds in the most recent position records, which extend into 2026; his 2025 listed salary was $78,848.83. Every facility-leadership posting in his file — and therefore every death attributed to him — is at Hays.

GPS attributes 33 deaths at Hays State Prison to McAlister's tenure as Deputy Warden. The named decedents in the records range in age from 25 to 82, and several are documented in incident reports as stabbing or sharp-force deaths. He is listed as a defendant in two federal cases in the Northern District of Georgia, one of them still pending, and no news report in the records names him directly. During the same period, the state announced a $24 million "hardened" unit at Hays as part of a $600 million prison construction surge, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published investigations into a Hays contraband-smuggling case and into GDC's withholding of manner-of-death information.

What happened on their watch

Hays State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021 to present). All 33 deaths attributed to McAlister occurred during this posting. In 2021 the records name Casuasdas Denard Thomas, 29 (May 8), Jorge Renberto Ventura-Cabrera, 35 (June 5, stab wounds to neck, torso and upper extremities; an incident report shows two other inmates involved), and Mason Dylan Babbage, 46 (June 20). The 2022 entries include Scott Conway Pinholster, 47, Manuel Mendoza-Garcia, 28, Yaheed Tyquan Brooks, 28, Alberto Eddie Deleon, 51, Quintez Deshon Smith, 25 (Aug. 29, multiple sharp force injuries), John Terrell Bohannon, 79, Tony Christopher Williams, 34, and Robert Lee Burton, 58. On Aug. 12, 2022, the Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger records a $35,000 state liability payout tied to Hays (Synita Hudgins).

Deaths recorded in 2023 include Quane Laquaus Johnson, 33, Robert Millan Cook, 57, Ronnie Joe Criswell, 67, Randoulf Gutierrez, 42, and Talore Stihles Blackford, 31 (Oct. 28, multiple stab wounds to the neck). In February 2023, an event logged to Hays during McAlister's tenure records the arrest of GDC warden Brian Adams on misconduct-related charges. In 2024 the records name Jeremy Edward Price, 36 (March 2, stab wounds to neck and chest — classified a homicide in incident reports and confirmed by his death certificate), Theron Morrell Hendrix, 31, Freddie Lee Talley, 31 (May 6, stab wound to the chest; officers recovered seven weapons from 9 to 22 inches, and three inmates received disciplinary reports but, as of January 2025 reporting, had not been charged), Timothy Darmofal, 58, Keith Johnson, 57, Mackendy Pierrette, 50, Thomas Johnson, 82 and Lawrence L. Williams, 30 (both Oct. 24), and Joey Griffin, 54.

The 2025 deaths recorded are Ralph Carter, 39, Tommy Joe Strickland, 60, Raymont Savion Farley, 36, James Cannon, 48, and Barcel Roylee Ward, 39; 2026 entries name Melvin Gay Johnson, 35 (Jan. 27) and Corey Anwar Dubose, 47 (March 23). Against that backdrop, the AJC reported in January 2025 that Tammy Price — mother of Jeremy Price — alleges GDC conceals its inability to protect prisoners by omitting manner-of-death information from mortality reports, and in March 2025 that a former Hays guard had smuggled methamphetamine and other contraband to inmates for over a month; federal officials announced that guard's sentencing in February 2025, per GPS records.

Also logged to Hays during this tenure: Georgia's January 2025 announcement of a $600 million prison spending surge including four 126-bed "hardened" modules, with the first under construction at Hays, followed in October 2025 by a $24 million hardened 126-bed unit at the same facility; a 2025 malnutrition investigation centered on Rogers State Prison; and a July 2025 Ware State Prison riot and lockdown. A separate item dated Oct. 18, 2025 references historical events at Hays — three homicides within one month in late 2012–early 2013 and an officer stabbed 22 times — a decade before McAlister's tenure.

Litigation

• Mckenzie v. Oliver, No. 4:26-cv-00108 (N.D. Ga.), filed April 28, 2026; status pending, no outcome recorded. McAlister is listed as a defendant per the court docket.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026; no outcome amount recorded.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide coverage and mortality-records investigation referencing Hays State Prison during McAlister's tenure (2025)
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (dockets via CourtListener) — Mckenzie v. Oliver; Daker v. Oliver
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — 2022 Hays State Prison liability payout
• Georgia Prisoners' Speak personnel and mortality records for Hays State Prison — named decedents, facility incidents, and federal contraband-sentencing announcement

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.