Scott, Tracey

Tenure Summary

GPS records attribute 28 total deaths at Calhoun State Prison during Scott’s time as deputy warden. The facility has been the focus of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, numerous allegations of violence and neglect, and multiple homicide cases. While Scott remains active in the role, no settlements or findings directly naming Scott as a defendant in a prison-death lawsuit are recorded in the GPS database; however, court records list Scott as a defendant in several civil actions, most of which do not appear to arise from the deaths at Calhoun.

What happened on their watch

* Daquavious Lackey (21), killed by his cellmate on May 16, 2022. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s review of a DOJ report, staff failed to follow classification and housing-assignment procedures, leading to Lackey being attacked with a fan motor in a net bag and suffering a stab wound to the neck and multiple blunt force injuries.
* Martel Dorsey (32), stabbed to death on November 24, 2023. The AJC noted this death was captured in incident reports as a homicide.
* Kenneth Piper (37), killed in an inmate-on-inmate assault on May 4, 2024, per AJC homicide data.
* Gonzalo Colmenero (54), died July 17, 2024 following an inmate assault, according to incident-report records obtained by the AJC.
* Willie Andrew Willis Jr. (27), died October 21, 2024 from blunt force trauma after being thrown from a balcony, according to a WALB investigation. His family alleged a delay of nearly an hour before he was airlifted for treatment.
* Theodore Roundtree and Matthew Len Nutt also died from stab wounds in 2025, per GPS records; Nutt’s death was labeled a homicide by a user report.

Other deaths included a 2023 incident widely reported by the DOJ and WALB: an incarcerated person found dead in a restrictive-housing cell from dehydration with renal failure after staff allegedly cut off his food and water. Federal investigators documented that prison staff shut off the water, closed the door flap, and did not deliver meals for two days, with the coroner noting the person had been dead for seven to eight hours before discovery.

The broader DOJ investigation covering 2018–2023 found that Georgia’s prison homicide rate was nearly triple the national average, that internal incident reports documented 18 deaths as homicides in the first five months of 2024 while the state reported only six, and that less than 10% of fights and 6% of weapon incidents were forwarded for investigation. The investigation specifically flagged Calhoun State Prison for staff failures in housing assignments and medical response, and concluded that the state fails to provide “the constitutionally required minimum of reasonable physical safety.” These findings overlap with Scott’s tenure.

During Scott’s time as deputy warden, the facility also experienced a series of contraband-related arrests and failed prosecutions. In 2019, an officer was caught smuggling meth and cellphones; in February 2020, two officers were arrested after bringing “Hot Pockets” packages allegedly containing methamphetamine and tobacco, but the charges were dismissed in 2023 because the drug evidence was never submitted for testing, per the AJC. A federal wire-fraud and meth-brokering ring operated from inside the prison, and a mass transfer of 87 lifers out of Calhoun occurred in early 2026 under security-level concerns.

Litigation

• Willis v. Government Employees Insurance Company (No. 5:23-cv-00430, GAMD), filed October 26, 2023, terminated January 23, 2026.
• Wade v. Morgan (No. 3:23-cv-00073, GASD), filed August 31, 2023, pending.
• Richardson v. The Georgia Department of Transportation (No. 1:19-cv-00054, GAND), filed January 3, 2019, terminated March 29, 2019.
• Jones v. Univar Inc (No. 1:18-cv-00596, GAND), filed February 8, 2018, terminated March 11, 2019.
• Cunningham v. Fulton County Georgia (No. 1:16-cv-00533, GAND), filed February 19, 2016, terminated March 29, 2019.
• Webb v. Cvs Caremark Corporation (No. 5:11-cv-00106, GAMD), filed March 16, 2011, terminated February 7, 2012.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel, death logs, and facility attribution for Tracey Scott (2020–2025 Calhoun State Prison deputy warden).
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga. prison homicides: a list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” and related DOJ coverage, reporting on Lackey, Piper, Colmenero, and systemic underreporting.
• WALB — family allegations and DOJ summary regarding Willie Andrew Willis Jr.’s death and conditions at Calhoun State Prison.
• CourtListener — lawsuit docket records for cases identifying Tracey Scott as a defendant.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Jun 21, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.