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Odum, ROY Matthew
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 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 has held correctional posts in Georgia since 2007: correctional officer at Smith State Prison (2007); lieutenant at Rogers State Prison (2011 and 2016); correctional lieutenant and CSM correctional unit manager at Georgia State Prison (2017–2018); deputy warden at Ware State Prison (2019–2020); warden 3 at Ware State Prison (2021 through 2024); and warden at Valdosta State Prison from October 16, 2024, to July 15, 2025. Later records list him in correctional senior manager roles without a listed facility in 2025 and 2026.
GPS records attribute 68 deaths to facility-leadership tenures held by Odum: 58 at Ware State Prison and 10 at Valdosta State Prison. Two federal cases name him as a defendant—Jackson v. Odum and Brown v. Odum—both filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in June 2025 and still pending as reflected in the records.
What happened on their watch
Smith State Prison, Rogers State Prison, Georgia State Prison (2007–2018)
GPS records list no deaths attributed to Odum’s postings at Smith State Prison, Rogers State Prison, or Georgia State Prison. Intel files include undated witness accounts from Rogers State Prison describing a fan-motor fire in H-2 and a Georgia Correctional Industries dairy-detail contraband dispute, but those accounts do not establish that the events occurred during Odum’s tenure.
Ware State Prison (2019–2024)
Odum served as deputy warden at Ware from 2019 to 2020 and as warden 3 from 2021 until October 2024. GPS records attribute 58 deaths at Ware across these leadership postings. Sampled records show homicides by stabbing and strangulation—including Christopher Rawls (2020), Robert Lee Wilson (2020), Christopher Eli Gresham (2021), and Robert Darius Scott (2021)—as well as suicides by hanging, accidental methamphetamine toxicity, and numerous natural deaths. For several deaths, records state the GBI Division of Forensic Sciences declined to perform an examination, leaving the cause determination to the Ware County Coroner. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that ten inmates 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.
Valdosta State Prison (October 2024 – July 2025)
Odum was warden at Valdosta from October 16, 2024, to July 15, 2025. GPS records attribute 10 deaths to this posting. Sampled cases include Sinjuan Harmon, whose death appears in a GDC-released January 2025 mortality report as “Homicide due to Strangulation”; Anthony Prothro, certified by a GBI medical examiner as suicide by hanging; Brandon McGee and Ryan Rumph, whom WALB reported were found dead with bodies sent to the GBI Crime Lab; and several deaths for which the extract does not list a cause. During this posting, GPS records include April 2025 advocacy reports describing caged housing without toilet access and gang control of kitchen and food distribution at Valdosta. Jackson v. Odum and Brown v. Odum were filed during this period.
Litigation
- Jackson v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00051, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, filed June 9, 2025; pending.
- Brown v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00062, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, filed June 30, 2025; pending.
The GPS extract does not detail the allegations in either suit.
Sources
- GPS personnel, mortality, and intel records, including GDC-released January 2025 mortality data
- Ware County Coroner / GBI DOFS records cited in GPS mortality files
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga prison homicides” coverage, including the Ware State Prison July 2020–August 2024 report
- WALB — coverage of Valdosta State Prison deaths, including Brandon McGee and Ryan Rumph
- CourtListener dockets for Jackson v. Odum and Brown v. Odum
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Sr Mgr, Correctional | 2026-08-27 → present | |
| 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 | WARE STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-10-15 |
| Warden 3 | WARE STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| 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
68 people died at facilities under Odum, ROY Matthew's leadership.
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