Thomas, Micheal

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

Dodge State Prison (Warden, January 2024 – July 2025): Three deaths occurred during Thomas’s leadership at Dodge. Kenneth Brown, 58, was found dead in his cell on January 31, 2024; the coroner recorded the death as a suicide by hanging, per GPS records. Almost a year later, on May 20, 2025, Sotero Uriquiza‑Hernandez, 51, collapsed after agitation and back pain and was pronounced dead; an autopsy was performed and the coroner listed the cause as natural, according to Dodge County coroner records. On June 13, 2025, Joseph Chatfield, 62, was found unresponsive; an external exam was conducted and toxicology ordered, but as of mid‑2026 the coroner had left the cause blank, leaving the death classified as unknown. In 2025 the state of Georgia issued a $16,000 liability payout tied to an incident at Dodge State Prison, according to a Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger.

Wilcox State Prison (Warden 1 and Warden, January 2025 – present): The bulk of deaths on Thomas’s watch — 18 in total — occurred at Wilcox, where he held the top post from the start of 2025. The decedents span a wide range of ages and causes. Coroner records confirm that Willie Thomas Mosley (63) died of natural causes (hypertensive cardiovascular disease) on December 1, 2025, and Roy Lee Gates (39) died of a seizure disorder due to hypertension the following May. Several deaths involved drugs: Stacy Ray Bullard (54) and Collis Welch Jr. (55) both died in November 2025 from the toxic effects of methamphetamine, ruled accidental. Two suicides by hanging were recorded — Deon Khalil Vanzyre (28) in January 2026 and Darrius Jerrod Zanders (33) in May 2025; Zanders had asked to be moved to a separate building the day before he died, citing “issues,” and an internal GDC officer investigated his own facility’s death, according to a coroner’s summary obtained by GPS. A contested case involves Ian Rashod Henry (29), whom GPS classifies as a homicide based on inmate-source accounts of a “hole” wound, while the Wilcox County coroner certified the death as a suicide by hanging — GPS retains the homicide classification, noting that coroners often sign off on GDC paperwork without examining the body. Three deaths were officially ruled homicides: Marcus Walker (20) was manually strangled in his cell in January 2026; Dominique Cornelius Cole (37) died from blunt force injuries and strangulation; and Daylyne Collins (30) suffered multiple stab wounds. Several more deaths remain pending coroner rulings as of July 2026, including those of Jeremy Cole Watson (37, suspected overdose), Earnest Sims (44, seizure after “smoking strips”), Raymond Trey Moody (37, found hanging in a solitary cell), and Gary Dwayne Felver (65).

Broader systemic issues shadowed Thomas’s tenure at Wilcox. A U.S. Department of Justice report released in October 2024 described Georgia prisons as riddled with violence, stabbings, and sexual assault amid “emergency level” staffing shortages. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that in the first half of 2025 alone, GDC investigated 42 deaths as possible homicides — nearly two-thirds of the total from all of 2024. At Wilcox, a massive gang fight in early 2025 sent nine prisoners to the hospital with stab wounds. A later incident in March 2026 prompted a lockdown after multiple stabbings, per GPS incident reports. A public Facebook post, cited by GPS, alleged that Thomas locked down inmate movement when senior staff held on‑site gatherings, and that basic hygiene supplies had gone unissued for nearly a year. The AJC also reported that the family of Dominique Cole alleged the warden promised a follow‑up call about his death that never materialized, and that his belongings were never returned.

Broader context from earlier career roles: While Thomas’s earlier postings as counselor or chief counselor at Macon State Prison and Central State Prison do not carry facility‑lead accountability for deaths, the facilities he worked in were flagged in subsequent years. At Central State Prison, the AJC noted DOJ findings that three prisoners were charged after the stabbing death of Hollis Alan Bryant, and another inmate, Marquis L. Johnson, was stabbed in a barbershop. Macon State Prison became a focus of lawsuits over overcrowding and understaffing, including a federal suit alleging an inmate was strangled by a cellmate known to be violent.

Litigation

• Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas, No. 1:25‑cv‑01155 (N.D. Ga., filed March 4, 2025). Status: pending. No disposition.

Sources

• GPS records — death logs, coroner summaries, autopsy reports for Wilcox and Dodge State Prisons
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga. prison homicides: a list of those killed,” “Prison system failures cost Georgia taxpayers millions,” “Georgia prison homicides outpacing last year,” and related coverage of DOJ findings
• 13WMAZ — reports on Central State Prison guard arrests, inmate fights, and Macon State Prison contraband cases
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — “Six people have died in Georgia state prisons in the past month” (Dec. 2023), covering staffing shortages and violence
• Facebook — public post alleging lockdowns and supply failures at Wilcox State Prison (2026)
• U.S. Department of Justice — October 2024 report on Georgia prison conditions
• GA Department of Administrative Services — risk management settlement ledger (2025 Dodge State Prison payout)
• Northern District of Georgia court docket — Goodwin v. Warden Micheal Thomas

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 2, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.