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McKenzie, Lachaka Nicole
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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
Lachaka Nicole McKenzie spent the bulk of her career climbing the ranks inside two Georgia Department of Corrections prisons that would become epicenters of violence and staffing collapse. After starting as a correctional officer and counselor, she served as Deputy Warden at Macon State Prison from 2017 through 2022 — a six‑year command stretch during which GPS records attribute 32 in‑custody deaths to the facility. She then moved to Central State Prison, first as a Correctional Unit Manager (2023‑2024) and later, in 2025, as Deputy Warden and ultimately Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment. During her current leadership tenure at Central, another 12 deaths have been recorded, bringing the total attributed to her watch to 44. Four federal lawsuits naming McKenzie as a defendant were filed across both postings; none include a recorded settlement amount.What happened on their watch
Macon State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2017–2022)
The death toll at Macon State Prison during McKenzie’s years as deputy warden was driven largely by homicides. According to the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, at least 13 of the 32 deaths GPS attributes to her tenure there were killings: Carrington Jwon Frye (23) died of stab wounds to the neck and chest in March 2020; Bobby Edward Lee Jr. (38) was strangled by his cellmate in July 2020; David Travis Dennis (34) sustained multiple sharp‑force injuries in May 2020; and Kendrick Milike Brown (25) suffered a blunt‑force head injury in October 2022. The AJC also documented family allegations — Frye’s mother claimed her son bled for more than half an hour before help arrived, and a federal lawsuit alleged Lee was placed with a known violent prisoner despite pleas for protection.Broader systemic failures paralleled these deaths. Intelligence reports collected by GPS show that by October 2024 roughly two‑thirds of correctional officer jobs at Macon SP were unfilled, and a coroner reported responding to fatalities with only five to eight officers staffing the entire compound. The AJC noted that low staffing allowed gangs to control housing units and that dilapidated locks and easy access to wall materials enabled weapon fabrication. During McKenzie’s deputy warden tenure, four officers were arrested for violating their oaths and providing false statements, and at least two inmates were convicted of orchestrating large‑scale drug trafficking rings from inside the prison using contraband cellphones.
Central State Prison (Deputy Warden / Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment, 2025–present)
Since McKenzie took the deputy warden post at Central State Prison in January 2025, 12 deaths have occurred at the facility. The records include a suicide in the segregation unit — Miguel Angel Duran, 44, on March 1, 2026 — and an accidental overdose: Joseph Hamm, 36, was found with a balloon of opiates that had burst in his mouth on October 8, 2025, after being notified to pack for a transfer. Other deaths were attributed to natural causes or listed without a publicly reported cause, such as Travis Jamal Gaither (41) on April 21, 2025, and Matthew Maddox on January 28, 2025.Allegations of staff misconduct have surfaced concurrently. In March 2025, three former guards were accused of beating an inmate and attempting a cover‑up. A guard was also charged in December 2025 with falsely imprisoning four DFCS employees over a child‑support dispute. While the DOJ has documented stabbings at Central State Prison in prior years, the facility’s more recent death count under McKenzie’s leadership has not included recorded homicides in the GPS dataset.
Litigation
- Smith v. Ward, filed Aug. 12, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; terminated June 7, 2023. McKenzie was named as a defendant while serving as Deputy Warden at Macon State Prison.
- Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections, filed June 14, 2019 in the Middle District of Georgia; terminated Sept. 30, 2022. Filed during her Macon SP deputy warden tenure.
- Tucker v. Wellpath LLC, filed July 3, 2024 in the Middle District of Georgia; still pending. Filed while McKenzie was a Correctional Unit Manager at Central State Prison.
- Tucker v. Holt, filed Oct. 16, 2024 in the Middle District of Georgia; terminated June 11, 2025. Also filed during her Central SP unit manager assignment.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (multiple homicide reports, 2020‑2022, Macon State Prison); reporting on staffing crises and violence (2024‑2025)
- GPS intelligence archive — death records, staffing allegations, facility‑specific incident reports
- 13WMAZ — coverage of guard arrests and inmate fights at Central State Prison
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — reports on statewide staffing emergency and gang influence
- U.S. District Court records (GAND, GAMD) — lawsuits Smith v. Ward, Bey v. GDC, Tucker v. Wellpath, Tucker v. Holt
- WALB — inmate fraud scheme coverage at Dooly State Prison (not directly tied to McKenzie’s facilities)
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
44 people died at facilities under McKenzie, Lachaka Nicole's leadership.
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