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Odum, ROY Matthew
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
Roy Matthew Odum is a career Georgia Department of Corrections employee who rose from a Correctional Officer to the Warden of multiple state prisons over nearly two decades. GPS records show Odum began his career at Smith State Prison in 2007 and later served in supervisory roles at Rogers State Prison and Georgia State Prison before assuming deputy and lead warden positions. His ascent into facility leadership tracks with a period of escalating violence and contraband-driven crime across the GDC system.GPS records attribute 57 facility-level deaths to Odum's leadership tenures: 47 at Ware State Prison, where he served as Deputy Warden from 2019 through 2020 and Warden from 2021 through 2023, and 10 at Valdosta State Prison, where he was appointed Warden in October 2024. Per court records, two federal civil rights lawsuits naming Odum as a defendant were filed in 2025 in connection with deaths at Valdosta State Prison; both remain pending.
What happened on their watch
Ware State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2019–2020; Warden, 2021–2023) Forty-seven deaths were recorded at Ware State Prison during Odum’s tenure as deputy warden and later warden. GPS records show a mix of cause categories, including at least five homicides. In July 2020, incarcerated man Robert Lee Wilson died of multiple stab wounds; the Ware County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, per coroner files obtained via Open Records. Two months later, Christopher Rawls was strangled to death — also ruled a homicide by the coroner. While Odum was warden, homicides continued: Robert Darius Scott was strangled by his cellmate in May 2021; Christopher Eli Gresham was assaulted by three or more inmates and stabbed in September 2021; Vadarian Lavianta Carr died of stab wounds to the chest and back in September 2022; and Alfonso Marquez Moore died of blunt impact head injuries inflicted by a cellmate in June 2023. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that ten incarcerated people were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates involved in several of the homicides according to GDC incident reports. Other deaths on Odum’s watch included suicides by hanging, accidental methamphetamine toxicity, and natural causes including COVID-19.Valdosta State Prison (Warden, 2024–2025)
Odum was appointed Warden at Valdosta State Prison on October 16, 2024. GPS records count 10 deaths attributed to the facility during his leadership there. Three deaths are classified as homicides in the available records: Sinjuan Harmon died by strangulation during an altercation in January 2025; Brandon Dominique McGee was found dead in April 2025, with his body sent to the GBI Crime Lab, according to reporting by WALB; and Ryan Cornelius Rumph was found dead in his cell in March 2025, with the Valdosta coroner telling WTXL that “Valdosta State Prison needs help.” Two suicides are also recorded: Anthony Vashern Prothro died in April 2025, and a December 2024 death of a man found by another incarcerated person in a cell was later reported by WTOC as a homicide by strangulation where the body went undiscovered for approximately two days — a delay the coroner publicly characterized as a major security concern.
Allegations of systemic disorder at Valdosta State Prison during this period are extensive. According to Yahoo News, an incarcerated man named Luis Ramirez directed a drug trafficking network tied to Mexican cartels using contraband cellphones, leading to a multi-defendant federal indictment in May 2025. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution separately reported that at least six correctional officers were arrested for aiding an incarcerated man in smuggling drug-soaked paper, pills, and tobacco, and handling financial transactions in a scheme dubbed Operation Skyhawk. An additional report by advocates, cited in GPS intel records from April 2025, alleged that incarcerated people were housed in cages without toilet access and that gangs controlled kitchen operations with staff complicity, extorting others for basic food items.
Litigation
- Brown v. Odum — filed June 30, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (Case No. 5:25-cv-00062); status pending.
- Jackson v. Odum — filed June 9, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (Case No. 5:25-cv-00051); status pending.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Ware State Prison homicides, Valdosta State Prison contraband schemes, and Operation Skyhawk indictments.
- WALB — reporting on deaths of Brandon Dominique McGee, Sinjuan Harmon, and Ryan Cornelius Rumph at Valdosta State Prison.
- WTOC — reporting on the December 2024 strangulation death and coroner’s concerns about delayed body discovery at Valdosta State Prison.
- WTXL — reporting on Valdosta County coroner’s statements following Ryan Rumph’s death.
- Yahoo.com — reporting on the federal drug trafficking indictment involving Luis Ramirez at Valdosta State Prison.
- Ware County Coroner / GBI DOFS records — Open Records Act production detailing cause and manner of death for decedents at Ware State Prison.
- CourtListener — dockets for Brown v. Odum and Jackson v. Odum.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| CORRECTIONAL SR. MGR | 2025-01-01 → present | |
| Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2024-10-16 → 2025-07-15 |
| WARDEN 3 | 2024-01-01 → 2024-10-15 | |
| WARDEN 3 | WARE STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WARE STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Lieutenant | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:25-cv-00062 | GASD | 2025-06-30 | pending |
| 5:25-cv-00051 | GASD | 2025-06-09 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
57 people died at facilities under Odum, ROY Matthew's leadership.
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