Rowland, Brandon Carl

Tenure Summary

Brandon Carl Rowland’s documented Georgia Department of Corrections career began as a corrections officer in 2015, followed by posts as correctional sergeant in 2016, lieutenant in 2017–2018, and unit manager from 2019 through 2023. He first appears in a Baldwin State Prison record as a CSM Correctional Unit Manager on Nov. 22, 2023, and then as Deputy Warden in the 2024 and 2025 position years. GPS records attribute 30 deaths to Rowland’s facility-leader tenures, all at Baldwin State Prison. The attributed deaths run from Jan. 17, 2024, through July 24, 2026, and each death record in the provided sample lists Rowland as Deputy Warden at the time of the death. No lawsuits naming Rowland as a defendant appear in the provided records.

What happened on their watch

Baldwin State Prison — Deputy Warden period

Rowland’s posted Deputy Warden position years are 2024 and 2025, though the death records list him as Deputy Warden for deaths through July 24, 2026. Across the 30 attributed deaths, the records use cause categories; most entries are coded category 6, and several are coded category 3. The decedents range in age from 23 to 87 in the provided records and include Clint Donovan Shelley, 50, on Jan. 17, 2024; Al Mir Harris, 23, on Dec. 31, 2024; Henry Finley on Jan. 19, 2025; and Edward Allen Pitt, 65, on July 24, 2026, among others.

At least two deaths are documented as homicides. Vincent Reshad Dyer, 50, died Aug. 21, 2024; GPS intel records describe the death as a homicide from sharp force chest trauma. According to 13WMAZ, Dyer had reported threats and asked to be moved shortly before his death, an officer allowed inmates into his dormitory, and logbook entries failed to accurately document the attack. A federal lawsuit, Moore v. Waller, No. 5:26-cv-00135 (M.D. Ga., filed April 13, 2026), accuses four Baldwin State Prison officers of failure to protect Dyer. GPS intel records also note a Baldwin County jury convicted Traquan Bangs of malice murder in the stabbing and sentenced him to life without parole plus five years. Henry Finley’s cause appears in a GDC-released January 2025 mortality report as “Homicide due to Multiple Puncture Wounds.”

Separately, inmate Akeim Burgest filed a lawsuit in February 2026 alleging that a Baldwin officer threw a water bottle at him, returned with a shank, and stabbed him while a lieutenant failed to intervene, according to 13WMAZ. On April 21, 2026, a federal judge ordered the Georgia Department of Corrections to preserve all records and camera footage in the Burgest case. A lawsuit filed Jan. 21, 2025 by the mother of Joshua Emanuel Williams alleges he was negligently placed in a cell with an inmate who had previously stabbed others; Williams’s death is recorded as July 3, 2020, before Rowland’s posted Baldwin assignment.

Public reporting during Rowland’s tenure also revisited earlier Baldwin staff misconduct allegations. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that former Lt. Tracey Wise admitted to smuggling K-2-laced papers for Bloods gang member Ryan Brandt three times, receiving $2,500 each time; Wise pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years’ probation. The AJC also reported that at least 360 Georgia prison employees had been arrested since 2018 on contraband-related charges. A 2023 federal indictment charged 23 Sex Money Murder defendants, including three former correctional officers, with murders, assaults, drug trafficking, and fraud, according to the AJC. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in 2021 that it was investigating violence and conditions in Georgia state prisons; that announcement predates Rowland’s Baldwin posting.

Litigation

The following court actions involve Baldwin State Prison staff but do not name Rowland as a defendant in the provided records:

• Moore v. Waller, No. 5:26-cv-00135 (M.D. Ga., filed April 13, 2026) — Gary Moore sues four Baldwin State Prison officers for failure to protect in Vincent Dyer’s Aug. 21, 2024 stabbing death. Disposition not listed.
• Burgest v. unidentified GDC staffers (filed February 2026) — Akeim Burgest alleges an officer shanked him and a lieutenant failed to intervene; a federal judge ordered evidence preservation on April 21, 2026. No case number or disposition listed.
• Lawsuit by the mother of Joshua Emanuel Williams (filed Jan. 21, 2025) — alleges negligent cell placement; Williams died July 3, 2020. No case number or disposition listed.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on contraband arrests, the Sex Money Murder indictment, and Tracey Wise smuggling allegations at Baldwin State Prison.
• 13WMAZ — reporting on the Vincent Dyer stabbing and lawsuit, the Akeim Burgest shanking lawsuit, and the Traquan Bangs conviction.
• Georgia Department of Corrections January 2025 mortality release — cause-of-death language for Henry Finley and others.
• U.S. Department of Justice — announced 2021 investigation into violence and conditions in Georgia state prisons.
• GPS structured records and court records — personnel, mortality, and litigation data grounding this narrative.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.