Ward, Alicia Necole

Tenure Summary

Alicia Necole Ward began her GDC career as a Correctional Officer at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in 2014, rose through the sergeant and lieutenant ranks, and by December 2024 had been appointed Deputy Warden of Administration at Dodge State Prison — her first facility-deputy posting. GPS records show two deaths attributed to Dodge State Prison during Ward's tenure there: Joseph Chatfield, 62, on June 13, 2025, and Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51, on May 20, 2025, both classified under cause category 6. Ward's earlier staff-tier postings at GDCP and Wilcox State Prison coincided with documented violence, contraband, and infrastructure failures at both facilities, though her accountability tier during those years was staff or unit supervisor, not facility leadership.

---

What Happened on Their Watch

Dodge State Prison — Deputy Warden of Administration / Deputy Warden (December 2024–present)

Ward holds the Deputy Warden role at Dodge State Prison, where GPS records attribute two deaths during her tenure. Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51, died on May 20, 2025; Joseph Chatfield, 62, died on June 13, 2025. Both are recorded under cause category 6; no further cause detail or notes appear in GPS records. No lawsuits naming Ward in connection with these deaths appear in the structured records. Ward's appointment came as GDC statewide homicide figures were accelerating: per GPS records, GDC was investigating 42 deaths as possible homicides in just the first six months of 2025 — nearly two-thirds of the 66 suspected homicides investigated in all of 2024.

Prior postings — GDCP and Wilcox State Prison (2014–2024, staff/unit-supervisor tier)

Ward served as a Correctional Officer and later Correctional Sergeant at GDCP from 2014 through 2019, and as a Field Training Officer at Wilcox State Prison in 2016. During overlapping periods at GDCP, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported: a newly convicted inmate photographed with a homemade shank and contraband cell phone within days of arrival (2024); an inmate allegedly assaulted by another while under methamphetamine intoxication, suffering stab wounds (January 2024); deaths by strangulation and chopping/sharp-force injuries in 2023; and a suicide in the mental-health dorm attributed to inadequate monitoring. The AJC also reported that officer Vera Jackson admitted accepting payments to tip a death-row inmate to upcoming shakedowns, and that inmate David "Toro" Zavala had 35 cellphones seized at the time of his guilty plea — both at GDCP. Consultants hired by the governor reported that nearly every part of GDCP had been vandalized, and GPS records document the facility holding 4,540 people at 568% of its original 800-person design capacity. At Wilcox, the AJC reported a family's allegation that guards were tied to gangs, and a DOJ report found Georgia's gang-run prisons were "riddled with regular violence and sexual assault." Ward held staff-tier roles during all of these events, not facility-deputy or warden authority.

---

Litigation

• Lynch v. Ward, No. 5:21-cv-00461 (GAMD), filed December 27, 2021; terminated June 7, 2023. Ward named as defendant; disposition not recorded in GPS records.
• Butler v. The Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 6:18-cv-00170 (GASD), filed June 21, 2018; terminated January 7, 2019. Ward listed among defendants; disposition not recorded.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (GAND), filed June 6, 2025; terminated March 30, 2026. Ward listed among defendants; disposition not recorded.
• Willis v. Government Employees Insurance Company, No. 5:23-cv-00430 (GAMD), filed October 26, 2023; terminated January 23, 2026. Nature of Ward's involvement not specified in GPS records.
• Benvenutti v. Geico General Insurance Company, No. 5:22-cv-00182 (GAMD), filed May 11, 2022; terminated May 30, 2024. Nature of Ward's involvement not specified in GPS records.
• In Re Equifax Inc Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:17-md-02800 (GAND), filed December 6, 2017; terminated April 13, 2022. Nature of Ward's involvement not specified in GPS records.
• In Re Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability, No. 1:17-md-02782 (GAND), filed June 2, 2017; pending as of GPS records. Nature of Ward's involvement not specified.

---

Sources

• GPS records — deaths attributed to Dodge State Prison during Ward's deputy-warden tenure (2025)
• GPS records — career positions table, salary data 2014–2025
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on GDCP contraband, violence, and infrastructure failures (multiple dates)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Wilcox State Prison gang allegations and homicides (multiple dates)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — statewide GDC homicide acceleration reporting (2025)
• U.S. Department of Justice — report on gang-run Georgia prisons (2024), per GPS intel records
• CourtListener — docket records for all seven cases listed above

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.