McAlister, Christopher A

Tenure Summary

Christopher A. McAlister's documented GDC career begins in 2015 as a corrections officer, moves through correctional lieutenant (2016) and correctional unit manager (2017–2020), and reaches facility leadership at Hays State Prison, where he is recorded as Deputy Warden across 2021–2025 and as Deputy Warden of Security from 2026. Personnel records list his status as active.

GPS's death registry attributes 30 deaths to McAlister's leadership tenures, every one of them at Hays State Prison. The registry's cause entries across those deaths include homicide, suicide, accident, natural/medical, and a large share still recorded as Unknown/Pending — ten of the deaths listed below carry no determined cause at all. Ages of the named decedents run from 25 to 82. During his tenure records also document two federal lawsuits naming him as a defendant, a $35,000 state liability settlement tied to Hays, a former Hays guard sentenced for smuggling methamphetamine, the arrest of a Hays warden on misconduct-related charges, and the 2026 death of the facility's warden.

What happened on their watch

Hays State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021–2025). All deaths attributed to McAlister's tenure fall at Hays State Prison. The violent ones are documented in incident reports: Jeremy Edward Price, 36, died March 2, 2024 from stab wounds to the neck and chest, classified as a homicide in incident reports and confirmed by his death certificate; an item dated January 24, 2025 records that his mother, Tammy Price, said she still does not know what happened to her child. Freddie Lee Iii Talley, 31, died May 6, 2024 of a stab wound to the chest, in an incident report describing a murder involving four other prisoners and multiple sharpened weapons measuring 10.5 to 22 inches; officers recovered seven weapons ranging from 9 to 22 inches, and three inmates received disciplinary reports but were not charged. Talore Stihles Blackford, 31, died October 28, 2023 from multiple stab wounds to the neck, and Quintez Deshon Smith, 25, died August 29, 2022 from multiple sharp force injuries. Three suicides appear in the same window: Tony Christopher Williams, 34, Alberto Eddie Deleon, 51, and Yaheed Tyquan Brooks, 28.

Two Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports are logged against this period: a January 21, 2025 report in which Tammy Price alleges the GDC is hiding its inability to protect prisoners from harm by omitting manner-of-death information from mortality reports, and a March 31, 2025 report that a former Hays guard smuggled methamphetamine and other contraband to inmates for over a month — federal officials announced that former guard's sentencing on February 10, 2025. A record dated February 1, 2023 reports the arrest of GDC Warden Brian Adams on charges related to misconduct. Per the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records), the state paid a $35,000 liability settlement tied to Hays in connection with a 2022 incident involving Synita Hudgins. On January 7, 2025, Georgia announced a $600 million prison spending surge including four 126-bed "hardened" modules, with the first under construction at Hays; a $24 million hardened unit at Hays was announced October 19, 2025. Items dated October 5, 2025 document an investigation into systemic malnutrition and food deprivation across Georgia prisons, identifying Rogers State Prison as the focal point and naming food service superintendent Ms. Gunner in related rationing allegations. Items dated October 18, 2025 log historical Hays material — three homicides within one month in late 2012–early 2013, an officer stabbed 22 times, and 42% of locks non-functional or easily defeated — predating this tenure.

Hays State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (2026–). Records dated July 8, 2026 describe a high-severity violent incident affecting more than one housing area, with two people sent to an outside hospital, the facility on lockdown with a tactical squad present and roughly 10 people detained. A published obituary (funeral-home death notice) dated July 12, 2026 reports the warden of Hays died unexpectedly, creating a leadership vacancy. Two inmate reports dated August 30, 2026 allege further violence: an officer reportedly taken hostage and another staff member stabbed, with the reports alleging no tactical response and little public attention; and a disturbance in which a group allegedly tried to take a package from an officer, stabbed a lieutenant and left another officer restrained, with National Guard presence reported. Family reports dated September 1, 2026 (Facebook public comment, Georgia prison family group) allege that people held in strip cells in the Hays infirmary were barred by policy from phone calls and visitation, including during a 2024 mental health crisis involving food refusal, and separately describe a warden who intervened over months to keep an incarcerated man on strip-cell status alive — bringing food, arranging family visits and calls, and bringing trusted peers to the infirmary despite policies barring such contact.

Deaths recorded at Hays State Prison under McAlister's leadership tenures:

• Barcel Roylee Ward, 39, died November 28, 2025, at Hays State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• James Cannon, 48, died October 25, 2025, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Raymont Savion Farley, 36, died June 15, 2025, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical.
• Tommy Joe Strickland, 60, died June 4, 2025, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical.
• Ralph Carter, 39, died March 5, 2025, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Joey Griffin, 54, died December 26, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Thomas Johnson, 82, died October 24, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Lawrence L Williams, 30, died October 24, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Mackendy Pierrette, 50, died September 13, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Keith Johnson, 57, died August 19, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Timothy Darmofal, 58, died May 22, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Freddie Lee Iii Talley, 31, died May 6, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Theron Morrell Hendrix, 31, died April 19, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Jeremy Edward Price, 36, died March 2, 2024, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Talore Stihles Blackford, 31, died October 28, 2023, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Randoulf Gutierrez, 42, died October 19, 2023, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Ronnie Joe Criswell, 67, died August 15, 2023, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical.
• Robert Millan Cook, 57, died July 17, 2023, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical.
• Quane Laquaus Johnson, 33, died January 15, 2023, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Accident.
• Robert Lee Burton, 58, died December 13, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical.
• Tony Christopher Williams, 34, died October 14, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide.
• John Terrell Bohannon, 79, died September 20, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Quintez Deshon Smith, 25, died August 29, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Alberto Eddie Deleon, 51, died July 11, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide.
• Yaheed Tyquan Brooks, 28, died May 23, 2022, at Hays State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide.

Litigation

• Mckenzie v. Oliver, No. 4:26-cv-00108 (docketed GAND), filed April 28, 2026 — McAlister listed as a defendant; status pending, no outcome amount recorded. Source: CourtListener docket.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (docketed GAND), filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026 — McAlister listed as a defendant; no outcome amount recorded. Source: CourtListener docket.

Neither case names McAlister in its title; both appear in the court records as suits in which he is a listed defendant. Separately, the $35,000 Synita Hudgins settlement tied to Hays (2022 incident) is recorded in the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger, not as a suit against him.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — January 21, 2025 report on Tammy Price's allegations about omitted manner-of-death data; March 31, 2025 report on a former Hays guard's contraband smuggling.
• CourtListener — dockets for Mckenzie v. Oliver and Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order.
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $35,000 Hays State Prison settlement, 2022 incident.
• Facebook (public comment, Georgia prison family group) — September 1, 2026 family reports on strip-cell conditions and a warden's interventions at Hays.
• GPS case submissions (intake records 317, 430, 435) — 2026 incident reports at Hays.
• Published obituary (funeral-home death notice) — July 12, 2026 notice of the Hays warden's death.
• GPS death registry — dates, ages and cause entries for the 30 deaths attributed to McAlister's leadership tenures; incident reports and death certificates cited within it for individual deaths.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.