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McKenzie, Lachaka Nicole
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 2026
Salary
$70,793
2025 · state payroll
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
Lachaka Nicole McKenzie began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer and counselor before rising to the deputy warden rank at Macon State Prison in 2017, a facility-leadership post she held through 2022. She later moved to Central State Prison, serving as a Correctional Unit Manager in 2023–2024 and then as Deputy Warden in 2025; she is currently the Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Central. GPS records attribute a total of 45 deaths to the leadership-level positions McKenzie has held—32 during her deputy warden tenure at Macon State Prison and 13 during her unit-manager and deputy warden roles at Central State Prison. Four federal lawsuits name McKenzie as a defendant, with filings connected to both facilities. Her time in command coincides with well-documented crises of understaffing, violence, and contraband trafficking that have drawn public scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice and Georgia news outlets.What happened on their watch
Macon State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2017–2022)
While McKenzie served as deputy warden, 32 in-custody deaths occurred at Macon State Prison. The publicly available sample covering 2020–2022 includes numerous homicides identified by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: among them, James Cornelius McLeroy (stab wounds to torso, 2022), Kendrick Milike Brown (blunt force head injury, 2022), Dan Brooks (stab wound of the neck, 2022), Joseph Walter Brown (multiple stab wounds, 2022), Ryan Weston Darville (stab wounds to chest, 2021), Carlos Maurice Fisher (multiple sharp force injuries, 2021), Raul Villegas (stab wound to torso, 2020), Robbie Lee Brower (blunt and sharp force injuries, 2020), Bobby Edward Lee (ligature strangulation, 2020), Cody Dustin Silvers (asphyxia, 2020), David Travis Dennis (multiple sharp force injuries, 2020), Carrington Jwon Frye (stab wounds to neck and chest, 2020), Rafael Becerra Blass (stab wounds to upper torso, 2020), and Johnny Young (sharp force injury to mouth/tongue, 2020). The AJC also reported that a coroner described responding to deaths with only five to eight officers staffing the entire facility, a reflection of emergency-level vacancies that by October 2024 left about two-thirds of correctional officer posts unfilled. According to AJC investigations, a federal lawsuit alleged Bobby Edward Lee Jr. was strangled by a convicted-murderer cellmate due to understaffing and indifference; Carrington Frye’s mother said her son bled for more than half an hour before help arrived; and a DOJ report noted that four gang members ran past an officer to the kitchen area and fatally stabbed a prisoner. Inmate Devito Duran Young coordinated a fentanyl trafficking ring from Macon using a contraband cellphone, and four correctional officers were arrested in September 2024 for violating their oath and providing false statements. Two lawsuits filed during McKenzie’s tenure—Smith v. Ward (2019, terminated 2023) and Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections (2019, terminated 2022)—named her as a defendant.Central State Prison (Unit Manager, 2023–2024; Deputy Warden, 2025; Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment, 2025–present)
GPS records attribute 13 deaths to McKenzie’s leadership roles at Central State Prison. Decedents include Matthew Maddox (cerebral herniation due to extremely high BP, January 2025), Mickey Barrett (2026), Steve Allen Burk (2026), Richard Palmer (2026), MICHAEL LANE BROOKS (77, 2026), Miguel Angel Duran (suicide, 44, 2026), and Joseph Hamm (accidental opiate overdose, 36, October 2025), among others. Although none of the sampled deaths are classified as homicides, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on DOJ findings that inmate Hollis Alan Bryant was stabbed to death at Central and that Marquis L. Johnson was stabbed in the prison barbershop and later died of cardiac arrest secondary to the stabbing. The facility has also seen allegations of staff misconduct: three former guards were accused of beating an inmate and trying to cover it up in March 2025, and a guard faced charges in December 2025 for falsely imprisoning four DFCS employees. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported that severe staff shortages allow gang members to effectively run state prisons, and families are routinely left without information about deaths. Two lawsuits naming McKenzie were filed while she was a unit manager at Central: Tucker v. Holt (October 2024, terminated June 2025) and Tucker v. Wellpath Llc (July 2024, pending), both in the Middle District of Georgia.Litigation
- Smith v. Ward, No. 1:19-cv-03871 (N.D. Ga., filed Aug. 12, 2019, terminated June 7, 2023). McKenzie named as defendant.
- Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 5:19-cv-00236 (M.D. Ga., filed June 14, 2019, terminated Sept. 30, 2022). McKenzie named as defendant.
- Tucker v. Holt, No. 5:24-cv-00360 (M.D. Ga., filed Oct. 16, 2024, terminated June 11, 2025). McKenzie named as defendant.
- Tucker v. Wellpath Llc, No. 5:24-cv-00215 (M.D. Ga., filed July 3, 2024, pending). McKenzie named as defendant.
Sources
- GPS records and Georgia Department of Corrections mortality data (deaths attributed, facility totals, decedent identities and dates)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (homicide lists, cause-of-death details, DOJ report summaries, staffing reports, family allegations, lawsuit descriptions)
- 13WMAZ — reporting on drug trafficking at Macon State Prison, inmate fights and staff arrests at Central State Prison
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — coverage of staff shortages, gang influence, and lack of transparency in Georgia prisons
- U.S. District Court dockets via CourtListener — Smith v. Ward, Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections, Tucker v. Holt, Tucker v. Wellpath
- DOJ investigation findings cited by AJC (Macon kitchen assault, Central barbershop stabbings)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2025-05-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | MACON STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | MACON STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Counselor | MACON STATE PRISON | 2010-01-01 → 2010-12-31 |
| Counselor | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | MACON STATE PRISON | 2005-01-01 → 2005-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:24-cv-00360 | GAMD | 2024-10-16 | terminated |
| 5:24-cv-00215 | GAMD | 2024-07-03 | pending |
| 1:19-cv-03871 | GAND | 2019-08-12 | terminated |
| 5:19-cv-00236 | GAMD | 2019-06-14 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
45 people died at facilities under McKenzie, Lachaka Nicole's leadership.
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