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Woodard, Ylitha L
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 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
Ylitha L. Woodard appears in GPS records as a financial operations employee for the Georgia Department of Corrections from at least 2013, with financial-staff postings at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in 2013 and 2016–2017, facility-less financial operations roles from 2015–2023, a one-day Metro Reentry Facility posting on Nov. 22, 2023, and an Accounting Technician 3 role in 2024. On Nov. 16, 2024, she moved into a facility-deputy role as Deputy Warden of Administration at Rutledge State Prison; later records list her as Deputy Warden there in 2025 and a one-day Deputy Warden entry in 2026. GPS records attribute six deaths to her facility-deputy tenure, all at Rutledge State Prison. No lawsuits name Woodard as a defendant in the provided data.What happened on their watch
Early financial-staff roles
In 2013 and 2016–2017, Woodard held financial-staff roles at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; from 2015–2023 she held similar titles with no recorded facility, and on Nov. 22, 2023, she had a one-day Financial Ops Generalist 3 posting at Metro Reentry Facility. GPS records attribute no deaths to these staff-tier postings. The later documented GDCP overcrowding and security-failure reports in the dataset appear with 2024–2026 dates, after her recorded GDCP years.Rutledge State Prison
Woodard became Deputy Warden of Administration at Rutledge State Prison on Nov. 16, 2024, and later held the Deputy Warden title. GPS records attribute six deaths to this tenure, all at Rutledge State Prison. The decedents named in the records are:- Joe Payne, 73, death record dated Dec. 29, 2024; cause-category code 6.
- William Edward Houston, 75, April 10, 2025; category 6.
- Alan Thomas Bryant, 46, June 1, 2025; category 1; record note says “Natural causes.”
- Brandon Keith Bolden, 37, June 15, 2025; category 3; record note reads “Homocide,” but the provenance note flags that spelling as spreadsheet lineage rather than a GDC determination, and the entry was reclassified from Official(GDC) to Prisoner Report.
- Jonathan Lloyd Myers, 38, May 3, 2026; category 6.
- Alterek Mance Dockery, 49, June 14, 2026; category 6.
The dataset does not include a legend for the cause-category codes, so no plain-language conclusion can be drawn for the category-6 deaths. Four of the six records carry category 6, one category 3, and one category 1. Ages range from 37 to 75.
During the Rutledge tenure, GPS records reference two facility-level allegations from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: a contraband scheme in which Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall allegedly admitted to providing prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food for money on at least six occasions; and a lawsuit over Curtis Mincey’s death in which his sister alleged he had a mental illness but did not receive appropriate assistance. Mincey is not among the six deaths GPS attributes to Woodard’s tenure. Separately, a state liability payout of $20,000 tied to Rutledge State Prison appears in a GA DOAS settlement ledger with an event date of June 19, 2024, before Woodard’s deputy warden start.
Litigation
GPS records list no lawsuits naming Woodard as a defendant. Facility-level litigation events in the dataset include:- Buttrum v. Herring — federal court; March 17, 2026 event; judge denied a motion to dismiss and ruled Georgia’s juvenile lifer parole process may violate the Eighth Amendment; linked to Rutledge State Prison.
- Allen v. Georgia Department of Corrections — filed March 5, 2026; alleged medical neglect causing amputation of left hand and damage to right hand; linked to Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, where Woodard had earlier financial-staff postings but not her deputy warden tenure.
- Lawsuit over Curtis Mincey’s death — Jan. 21, 2025 event; sister alleged mental illness without appropriate medical or psychological assistance at Rutledge, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- State settlement — $20,000 GDC payout tied to Rutledge State Prison, event date June 19, 2024, per GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger.
Sources
- Georgia Prisons’ Speak personnel records and death-attribution data for Ylitha L. Woodard.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — contraband and security reporting at Rutledge State Prison and Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; Mincey lawsuit allegation.
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger via Open Records — $20,000 Rutledge State Prison payout.
- Federal court records referenced in GPS intel events — Buttrum v. Herring, Allen v. Georgia Department of Corrections.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden of Administration | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2024-11-16 → present |
| ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 3 | 2024-01-01 → 2024-11-15 | |
| Financial Ops Generalist 3 | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 3 | 2018-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 2 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| FINANCIAL OPS GEN (AL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Financial Operations Generalist | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
6 people died at facilities under Woodard, Ylitha L's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-14 | ALTEREK MANCE DOCKERY | 49 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2026-05-03 | JONATHAN LLOYD MYERS | 38 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-06-15 | BRANDON KEITH BOLDEN | 37 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-06-01 | ALAN THOMAS BRYANT | 46 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-04-10 | WILLIAM EDWARD HOUSTON | 75 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-12-29 | JOE PAYNE | 73 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Administration |
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