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Williams, Khalilah J
Status: active
Profile written June 7, 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
Khalilah J. Williams began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Behavioral Health Counselor in 2015 and was promoted to Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor the following year. In 2017 she transitioned into custody leadership, assuming the role of Deputy Warden at Dodge State Prison. GPS records show she held that post continuously from 2017 through at least the end of 2025, with annual salary increases that reflect sustained service. During her nine-year tenure as a facility deputy at Dodge State Prison, 16 deaths were recorded at the institution — figures that GPS tracks by leadership period. Two of those deaths were homicides detailed in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation; the remaining 14 were classified under a cause category that typically indicates natural or illness-related mortality inside Georgia prisons.What happened on their watch
Dodge State Prison — Deputy Warden (2017–2025) Williams served as Deputy Warden at Dodge State Prison for the full span from January 2017 through December 2025. In that period, GPS records attribute 16 in-custody deaths to the facility. The documented fatalities span from August 2020 to April 2026 (the latter date technically falls after the latest recorded position end-date, but the death is listed under her role as Deputy Warden, suggesting either an extended assignment or a data-alignment artifact). The decedents ranged in age from 21 to 70. Fourteen of the deaths — including Joseph Chatfield, 62; Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51; Kenneth Brown, 58; Charles Dennis Casey, 41; and others — carry a cause-category code of 6, which in GDC terminology frequently denotes deaths from illness or natural causes, though no further public detail has been released.Two deaths stand out as homicides, both flagged by an AJC investigation. On June 2, 2022, Douglas Anthony Forts, 57, died from what the death certificate described as an acute traumatic amputation of a finger sustained during a fight. On September 14, 2022, Hezekiah Sha’Nard Cuyler, 21, died from blunt force trauma to the head. Both events triggered intel-event records within GPS tracking, but no lawsuits naming Williams as a defendant have been filed in connection with these or any other deaths at the facility. The intel files contain no additional reports about staff conduct, use of force, or systemic failures during Williams’ deputy-warden tenure.
No broader news investigations or DOJ findings specifically mention Dodge State Prison under her watch, and the AJC homicide review did not single out institutional management. The deaths accumulated steadily, with the first seven in 2020, four in 2021-2022, and the remaining five spread across 2023-2026. The pattern suggests a facility experiencing recurring mortality without triggering public litigation or elevated media scrutiny during Williams’ time as second-in-command.
Sources
- GPS personnel and death-attribution records — career timeline, death totals, and facility attribution for Dodge State Prison under Deputy Warden Khalilah J. Williams.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation — reporting on the deaths of Hezekiah Cuyler (blunt force trauma) and Douglas Forts (amputation during fight).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → present |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
16 people died at facilities under Williams, Khalilah J's leadership.
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