Williams, Khalilah J

Tenure Summary

Khalilah J. Williams joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor before transitioning into facility leadership. By 2017 she had been appointed Deputy Warden at Dodge State Prison, a post she has held continuously through at least 2025 — a span of nearly nine years. GPS records show 15 deaths attributed to Dodge State Prison during Williams's tenure as Deputy Warden, including two confirmed homicides documented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation. No lawsuits naming Williams as a defendant appear in GPS records, and no settled cases are on file.

What Happened on Their Watch

Dodge State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2017–present

GPS records attribute 15 deaths at Dodge State Prison during Williams's tenure as Deputy Warden. Thirteen of those deaths carry cause category 6 (cause unspecified in available records); two are classified as homicides (cause category 3). The homicide deaths are documented by the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation: Douglas Anthony Forts, 57, died June 2, 2022, from acute traumatic amputation of a finger sustained during a fight, per the AJC; Hezekiah Sha'Nard Cuyler, 21, died September 14, 2022, from blunt force trauma to the head, per the AJC. Those two deaths occurred within roughly three and a half months of each other. The remaining 13 deaths span 2020 through 2025 and include individuals ranging in age from 33 to 64. A notable cluster of five deaths occurred between August and October 2020. The most recent deaths on record are Sotero Uriquiza-Hernandez, 51, on May 20, 2025, and Joseph Chatfield, 62, on June 13, 2025, both carrying cause category 6. Williams held the Deputy Warden role — an accountability-tier position classified as facility deputy — at the time of each of these deaths. No intel reports or news mentions tied to Williams personally appear in GPS records.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation: source for cause-of-death findings in the deaths of Hezekiah Sha'Nard Cuyler (Sept. 14, 2022, blunt force trauma) and Douglas Anthony Forts (June 2, 2022, traumatic amputation during fight) at Dodge State Prison
• GPS records: positions table documenting Williams's salary years and titles 2015–2025; deaths-during-tenure table listing 15 deaths at Dodge State Prison (2020–2025) attributed to the facility during her Deputy Warden posting

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.