Odum, ROY Matthew

Tenure Summary

Roy Matthew Odum entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Smith State Prison in 2007, served as a lieutenant at Rogers State Prison in 2011, and as lieutenant and then correctional unit manager at Georgia State Prison in 2017–2018 before moving into facility leadership as deputy warden at Ware State Prison in 2019. He was promoted to Warden 3 at Ware in 2021 and held that post until October 15, 2024, when he became warden at Valdosta State Prison, remaining there until July 15, 2025. Payroll records also show a Correctional Sr. Mgr. post in 2025; his status is listed as active.

Sixty-eight deaths are attributed to facilities during his leadership tenures — 58 at Ware State Prison and 10 at Valdosta State Prison. He is the named defendant in two federal lawsuits filed in 2025, both pending. No news coverage naming him directly appears in these records.

What happened on their watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2019–2020. Deaths at Ware during this deputy posting include Christopher Arnett Rawls, 32, who died September 5, 2020, by strangulation, and Robert Lee Wilson III, 31, who died July 17, 2020, from multiple stab wounds, with an incident report showing 16 other inmates involved and seven injured. On August 1, 2020, malfunctioning doors allowed inmates out of their rooms; two guards were taken hostage, one beaten and stabbed, and hundreds of inmates ransacked the prison — GDC records cited in reporting note 33 homemade weapons, 55 security staff directly involved, and a mass employee exodus. Records also note a 2020 riot and punitive lockdown with power cuts during summer heat. The GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger shows a $10,000 state liability payout tied to Ware for a 2019 incident involving Denard Brown.

Ware State Prison — Warden 3, 2021 to October 15, 2024. Fifty-eight deaths are attributed to Ware during his leadership there. Registry entries for deaths at Ware during this tenure include:

• Ricky Hewitt died September 15, 2023, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 63.
• James Burl Hindman died October 3, 2023, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 73.
• Thomas Jerome Mccoy died October 7, 2023, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 38.
• George Bernard Wright died October 28, 2023, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 58.
• Richard Howell Davis died January 21, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 63.
• Billy Clint Henson died March 4, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 66.
• Leonardo Lamont Anderson died April 20, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 49.
• James Mark Slater died April 25, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 60.
• Christopher Michael Taylor died May 28, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 33.
• Scott Alan Bardwell died May 30, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide. Age 57.
• Samuel Kieth Ellis died August 1, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 31.
• Michael Lee Parker died August 22, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 71.
• Antonio Jones died September 1, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 44.
• Squaier Lamar Jiles died September 16, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 35.
• Juan Carlos Mendez-Pimental died September 21, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the cause is listed as Natural/Medical. Age 41.

Reporting also documents Thomas Jerome McCoy's death from a stab wound to the chest, with three other prisoners involved per GDC data, and Alfonso Marquez Moore's death by blunt impact to the head on June 19, 2023. Kojack Thomas Jr., 27, was pronounced dead at Ware on May 31, 2024, and GDC was investigating as a potential homicide. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported on October 1, 2024, that Narissa Wright alleges no counts or welfare checks were conducted at Ware, allowing her son DonTavis Mintz's body to go undiscovered for days; she could identify him by a single tooth. The state settlement ledger shows $2,500 tied to Ware for a 2021 incident (Bennie James Johnson) and $20,000 for a 2023 incident (Jimmy Mack Rice).

Valdosta State Prison — Warden, October 16, 2024 to July 15, 2025. Ten deaths are attributed to Valdosta during his tenure. Registry entries include:

• Antonio D Anderson died December 3, 2024, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. Age 49.
• Billy W Chaney died December 3, 2024, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. Age 68.
• Matthew Dane Jackson died December 31, 2024, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. Age 37.
• Sinjuan Harmon died January 12, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide.
• Eric Lee Schermerhorn died March 4, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide. Age 40.
• Ryan Cornelius Rumph died March 11, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 34.
• Chet Elliott Kent died March 16, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. Age 45.
• Brandon Dominique Mcgee died April 2, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Homicide. Age 33.
• Anthony Vashern Prothro died April 7, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Suicide. Age 34.
• Jason Frank Jordan died June 1, 2025, at Valdosta State Prison; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. Age 45.

AJC reporting catalogued at Valdosta during his tenure states that 80% of correctional officer positions were vacant as of April, and describes Operation Skyhawk — seven officers arrested, six GDC officers alleged to have smuggled drug-soaked paper, pills and tobacco for an inmate, drone deliveries, more than 170 drone drops stopped between November 2023 and March 2024, a foiled murder-for-hire plot, and Lieutenant Lyric Oliver's arrest over alleged payments from an inmate; a federal indictment was filed May 13. Advocates in April 2025 alleged caged housing without toilet access and gang control of the kitchen with extortion of inmates for food. The same AJC reporting covers deaths that occurred before Odum took the post — Shane Griffith (May 2024), Melvin Towns (April 2024), Ricky Harris (February 2024) and Rufus Lane (January 2024) — a claim over the Hakeem Olajuwon Williams death, allegations that Jenna Mitchell's suicide threats were ignored, and the July 2024 firing of Warden Ralph Shropshire for "misconduct." Griffith's family filed a notice of intent to sue the state. The settlement ledger shows $2,000 tied to Valdosta for a 2025 incident (Kenneth Greene Jr.).

Litigation

• Brown v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00062 (GASD), filed June 30, 2025; pending.
• Jackson v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00051 (GASD), filed June 9, 2025; pending.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Valdosta State Prison staffing, Operation Skyhawk contraband and drone reporting, and homicide coverage during the 2024–2025 warden tenure.
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — Narissa Wright's allegations about counts and welfare checks at Ware State Prison (October 1, 2024).
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — liability payouts tied to Ware and Valdosta.
• CourtListener dockets — Brown v. Odum and Jackson v. Odum.
• GPS death registry — dates, facilities, causes and ages for the named decedents.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.