Thomas, Micheal

Tenure Summary

Micheal Thomas began in Georgia Department of Corrections facilities as a counselor at Macon State Prison in 2010, moved to Central State Prison as chief counselor over programs in 2013, and worked in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor. Records list him as a deputy warden for each year from 2016 through 2021 without a facility attributed, then as Correctional Superintendent at McEver Probation Detention Center in 2022 and again in 2023–2024, as a warden at Dodge State Prison from March 1, 2024, to July 15, 2025, and in Wilcox State Prison warden posts from January 1, 2025, with the Warden title at Wilcox running from July 16, 2025, without an end date. He is listed as active.

Across those facility-leadership tenures, GPS's death registry attributes 12 deaths: 9 at Wilcox State Prison, 2 at Dodge State Prison, and 1 at McEver Probation Detention Center. A state liability payout of $16,000 is tied to Dodge State Prison, and he is the named defendant in a pending federal lawsuit, Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas.

What happened on their watch

McEver Probation Detention Center — Correctional Superintendent (2022; also listed in 2023 and in a concurrent post through February 2024). One death is attributed here: Tyrone Quimby died August 20, 2022, at McEver Probation Detention Center at age 63; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.

Dodge State Prison — Warden (March 1, 2024, to July 15, 2025). Two deaths are attributed to this tenure. Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez died May 20, 2025, at Dodge State Prison at age 51; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Joseph Chatfield died June 13, 2025, at Dodge State Prison at age 62; the cause is listed as Unknown/Pending. A state liability payout of $16,000 is recorded against Dodge State Prison for a 2025 incident involving Kimyania Smith, dated May 26, 2025, per the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger released under open records.

Wilcox State Prison — Warden (from January 1, 2025, in a warden post; Warden from July 16, 2025, no end date listed). Nine deaths are attributed to this tenure:

• Collis Jr Welch died November 7, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison at age 55; cause listed as Overdose.
• Stacy Ray Bullard died November 8, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison at age 54; cause listed as Overdose.
• Willie Thomas Mosley died December 1, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison at age 63; cause listed as Natural/Medical.
• Marcus Walker died January 10, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison at age 20; cause listed as Homicide.
• Deon Khalil Vanzyre died January 16, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison at age 28; cause listed as Suicide.
• Jeremy Cole Watson died March 9, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison at age 37; cause listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Earnest Sims died March 16, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison at age 44; cause listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Gary Dwayne Felver died June 15, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison at age 65; cause listed as Unknown/Pending.
• Maurice Antonio Brown died September 3, 2026, at Wilcox State Prison; cause listed as Homicide.

Incident records from this tenure describe a March 8, 2026, gang fight at Wilcox that hospitalized nine people; an April 1, 2026 allegation of multiple stabbings at Wilcox that triggered a lockdown and law enforcement response; a September 3, 2026 altercation involving multiple inmates in which Maurice Brown was killed, with seven inmates taken to hospitals, two by airlift, and his body sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab; a GDC Office of Professional Standards investigation of that death and a facility lockdown, both dated September 4, 2026; and a September 18, 2026 gang-related fight at Wilcox that killed one inmate and injured nine, described in records as occurring two weeks before the Telfair incident.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting dated September 16, 2025, is logged against his Wilcox tenure: a DOJ finding that Georgia's gang-run prisons were riddled with regular violence and sexual assault; the arrest and firing of hundreds of GDC employees for smuggling drugs and other contraband; an account that the warden promised the family of Dominique Cole a follow-up call with details about his death that never came and that the prison failed to return his belongings, including his wallet and Social Security card; and an allegation that Cole told his family guards at Wilcox were tied to gangs. A separate event record states that Dominique Cole was killed by another prisoner at Wilcox two months before his release date.

Litigation

• Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas, No. 1:25-cv-01155, filed March 4, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (GAND); status pending, no outcome amount recorded. The case was filed while records list Thomas holding the Dodge State Prison warden post.

Sources

• GPS death registry — names, dates, facilities, and causes for the 12 deaths attributed to his facility-leadership tenures.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — September 16, 2025 reporting at Wilcox State Prison on the DOJ findings, GDC employee arrests, and the Cole family account.
• GPS case submission records — April 1, 2026 allegation of multiple stabbings and lockdown at Wilcox State Prison.
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — $16,000 payout tied to Dodge State Prison, 2025.
• Court records (CourtListener docket) — Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas, GAND 1:25-cv-01155.
• GDC Office of Professional Standards / GBI Crime Lab — referenced in incident records for the September 2026 Wilcox death.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 27, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.