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Thomas, Micheal
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
Micheal Thomas’s career with the Georgia Department of Corrections spans more than a decade, beginning as a counselor at Macon State Prison in 2010 and moving through chief counselor and deputy warden roles before assuming facility leadership positions in 2022. GPS records attribute 20 deaths to facilities during his leadership tenures: 3 at Dodge State Prison, where he served as warden from January 2024 to July 2025, and 17 at Wilcox State Prison, where he has served as warden from January 2025 to the present. His time at Wilcox has drawn public allegations of lockdowns during staff gatherings, lapses in basic supplies, and unfulfilled promises to grieving families. One federal lawsuit naming Thomas as a defendant remains pending.What happened on their watch
Dodge State Prison (January 2024 – July 2025)
Three deaths occurred under Thomas’s command at Dodge. On January 31, 2024, Kenneth Brown, 58, was found dead in his cell; the coroner ruled the death a suicide by hanging, per GPS records. On May 20, 2025, Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51, collapsed after exercising and complaining of agitation and low back pain; autopsy findings indicated hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Joseph Chatfield, 62, died on June 13, 2025, and his cause remains undetermined pending a final coroner’s report. A separate state liability settlement of $16,000 was recorded for an incident at Dodge in 2025, though its connection to these deaths is not publicly detailed.Wilcox State Prison (January 2025 – present)
Thomas’s tenure at Wilcox State Prison has been marked by a high concentration of deaths—17 recorded as of mid‑2026—with causes ranging from natural illness to homicides, suicides, and suspected overdoses. The wave began on January 16, 2025, when Keith Wingo died of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. In the months that followed, multiple homicides were documented: Daylyne Collins, 30, was killed by multiple sharp-force injuries in his cell on April 20; Dominique Cole, 37, died of blunt-force injuries and strangulation on June 8; and Marcus Walker, 20, was manually strangled on January 10, 2026. GPS records classify Ian Rashod Henry’s June 22, 2025 death as a homicide, based on a witness report of a wound, though the Wilcox County coroner certified it as suicide by hanging—a conflict the watchdog notes as potential mis‑certification in a system where coroners sometimes sign off without examining the body. Two suicides by hanging, two accidental methamphetamine toxicities, and several natural deaths (cardiac, renal, seizure disorders) were also recorded.Allegations have surfaced about conditions under Thomas’s watch. A public Facebook post asserted that movement was locked down when senior staff held on‑clock gatherings, and that basic items such as toothbrushes, socks, and undergarments had gone unissued for roughly a year despite being budgeted. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that the family of Dominique Cole said the warden promised a follow‑up call about his death that never came, and that his belongings were not returned; Cole had told relatives that guards at Wilcox were tied to gangs. Meanwhile, a gang fight in early 2025 sent nine inmates to the hospital with stab wounds. The U.S. Department of Justice had already described Georgia’s prisons in late 2024 as riddled with violence, sexual assault, and gang influence due to chronic understaffing—a backdrop that aligns with the volume and nature of deaths at Wilcox during Thomas’s tenure.
Litigation
- Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas, case 1:25-cv-01155 (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia), filed March 4, 2025. Status: pending.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, death logs, and facility-attribution database
- Wilcox County Coroner (Janice B. Brown) — case records for individual deaths at Wilcox State Prison (2025–2026)
- Dodge County Coroner — case records for deaths at Dodge State Prison (2024–2025)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on prison homicides, DOJ findings, and family allegations at Wilcox and other facilities (May–September 2025)
- Facebook (public post) — allegations regarding lockdowns and supply lapses at Wilcox State Prison under Warden Thomas (May 2026)
- 13WMAZ — coverage of drug trafficking and staff arrests at Macon State Prison (2025–2026)
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — reporting on staffing shortages and gang control in Georgia prisons (December 2023)
- CourtListener — docket for Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas (accessed via URL)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2025-07-16 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Warden | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2024-03-01 → 2025-07-15 |
| WARDEN 1 | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-02-29 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | McEVER PROBATION DETENTION CENTER | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | 2016-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Chief Counselor | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
| Counselor | MACON STATE PRISON | 2010-01-01 → 2010-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:25-cv-01155 | GAND | 2025-03-04 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
20 people died at facilities under Thomas, Micheal's leadership.
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