Woodard, Ylitha L

Tenure Summary

Ylitha L. Woodard’s documented GDC career began in financial operations roles. From 2013 to 2017, she held Financial Operations Generalist titles, including postings at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in 2013 and 2016–2017. From 2018 through 2023, her listed titles were Financial Ops Generalist 3, with a one-day Metro Reentry Facility assignment on Nov. 22, 2023, followed by an Accounting Technician 3 role in 2024. On Nov. 16, 2024, Woodard became Deputy Warden of Administration at Rutledge State Prison; 2025 and 2026 records list her as Deputy Warden.

GPS records attribute six deaths to Woodard’s leadership tenure, all at Rutledge State Prison. The facility-level breakdown shows six deaths at Rutledge, matching the person-level total. No lawsuits naming Woodard as a defendant appear in the provided GPS records.

What happened on their watch

Rutledge State Prison — Deputy Warden of Administration / Deputy Warden (Nov. 16, 2024–present)

GPS records attribute six deaths at Rutledge State Prison during Woodard’s tenure. In chronological order, the death records list:

• Joe Payne, 73, Dec. 29, 2024 — listed role at time of death: Deputy Warden of Administration; cause category 6.
• William Edward Houston, 75, April 10, 2025 — cause category 6.
• Alan Thomas Bryant, 46, June 1, 2025 — notes list natural causes; cause category 1.
• Brandon Keith Bolden, 37, June 15, 2025 — cause category 3; the entry carries a homicide notation, but GPS provenance notes describe the spelling as a spreadsheet transcription artifact rather than a GDC fingerprint.
• Jonathan Lloyd Myers, 38, May 3, 2026 — cause category 6.
• Alterek Mance Dockery, 49, June 14, 2026 — cause category 6.

Four of the six deaths are coded as cause category 6 in the underlying records. The available sample does not provide textual causes for four of the decedents. The ages range from 37 to 75.

During the same Rutledge tenure, GPS records show a lawsuit was filed Jan. 21, 2025 over the death of Curtis Mincey. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mincey’s sister alleged in that filing that he had a mental illness but did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance. Mincey is not listed among the six deaths attributed to Woodard’s tenure in the provided records. Separately, AJC reporting describes an allegation that Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall at Rutledge State Prison admitted to providing prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food in exchange for money. In March 2026, GPS records note a federal court event in Buttrum v. Herring, tied to Rutledge State Prison, in which a judge denied a motion to dismiss and ruled that Georgia’s juvenile lifer parole process may violate the Eighth Amendment. None of these filings are listed as naming Woodard as a defendant.

Sources

• GPS personnel and accountability records, including positions and the death ledger for Rutledge State Prison.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides list (Curtis Mincey allegation at Rutledge State Prison).
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Operation Skyhawk contraband reporting (Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall at Rutledge State Prison).
• Federal court records via GPS intel event — Buttrum v. Herring order denying motion to dismiss, March 17, 2026.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.