Ward, Alicia Necole

Tenure Summary

Alicia Necole Ward entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in 2014, later serving as a field training officer at Wilcox State Prison (2016) and a correctional sergeant at GDCP (2017‑2019). Her supervisory roles escalated through lieutenant and unit manager positions, but GPS records do not link these to a specific facility. In December 2024, Ward was appointed Deputy Warden of Administration — later reclassified as Deputy Warden — at Dodge State Prison, a post she holds through the present. During her leadership tenure at Dodge, three in-custody deaths have been attributed to the facility. No lawsuits name Ward as a defendant, though a state settlement of $16,000 was paid in connection with a 2025 incident at Dodge.

What happened on their watch

Dodge State Prison (Deputy Warden, December 2024 – present). GPS records attribute three deaths to Dodge State Prison during Ward’s deputy warden tenure. On 20 May 2025, Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51, “worked out, [became] agitated, [complained of] low back pain,” then collapsed; he was pronounced dead at 23:03. The coroner’s office ordered an autopsy and noted he had been taking multiple antihypertensives. On 13 June 2025, Joseph Chatfield, 62, was last seen alive at 06:45 and pronounced dead at 09:20; an external exam was performed and toxicology ordered, but the coroner left the cause of death blank. On 28 April 2026, Warren Peacock, 70, was witnessed dying at 22:43; the coroner documented chronic hypertension, kidney disease, COPD, and diabetes, and released the body to the GBI for autopsy, though a later GBI open‑records response could not locate responsive records. Separately, a $16,000 state liability payout was recorded on 26 May 2025 for an incident at Dodge that year involving Kimyania Smith, according to the Georgia Department of Administrative Services risk management settlement ledger. No lawsuits against Ward have been filed in connection with any of these events.

Sources

• GPS intelligence records — deaths of Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, Joseph Chatfield, and Warren Peacock at Dodge State Prison (coroner open‑records disclosures, 2026).
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services — settlement ledger, Kimyania Smith payout (2025), via open records.
• GPS personnel and position records — career timeline and facility assignments for Alicia Necole Ward.

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.