# Deputy Warden Dennis Turner: employment history and disciplinary records, 2022 to 2026

- Agency: Georgia Department of Corrections
- Requested by: Georgia Prisoners' Speak
- Request: R030687-080126
- Filed: 2026-08-01
- Status: Partly fulfilled (GDC released the employment history and the disciplinary documents it found without reviewing the full personnel file. It said Office of Professional Standards investigative files are not subject to release and inmate grievances are confidential under O.C.G.A. § 42-5-36, and it estimated fees for reviewing the personnel file, which it said runs over 600 pages, and the 14 incident reports that mention use of force and name him. The request did not go forward on those items.)
- Cost: $0.00 (No fee charged for the records released. GDC estimated $113.75 (3.5 hours at $32.50) for the use-of-force reports alone.)
- Page: https://gps.press/records/r030687-080126/

Records about Dennis J. Turner, a deputy warden now at Central State Prison, from January 2022 on: his assignment history, discipline, suspensions, complaints, investigations and use-of-force reports. GDC released his employment history (correctional officer at Calhoun State Prison in 2011, deputy warden at the Special Management Unit from October 2023, and at Central State Prison from August 2025) and his disciplinary documents. They show a suspension with pay pending investigation in February 2025, a proposed seven-day suspension without pay in July 2025, a suspension with pay pending an Office of Professional Standards investigation from April 1, 2026, and a seven-day suspension without pay proposed on July 2, 2026 and upheld by the Disciplinary Panel on July 20, 2026. GDC said investigative files and complaints filed as inmate grievances are confidential, and estimated fees for searching the rest.

## Documents

| Document | Kind | Received | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Employment and assignment history, 2011 to 2025](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/r030687-080126/Employment_Info_-_D._Turner.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-08-13 | 1 p., 33 KB |
| [Special Management Unit disciplinary documents, 2025 (redacted by GDC)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/r030687-080126/AA_Pro_Turner_7_Day-legal_Redacted.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-08-20 | 3 p., 2.1 MB |
| [Central State Prison disciplinary documents, 2026 (redacted by GDC)](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/public-records/r030687-080126/D_Turner_Disciplinary_Central_SP_Redacted.pdf) | As released by the agency | 2026-08-20 | 3 p., 1.4 MB |

## What we asked for

> Georgia Open Records Act Request Submitted pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. Requester: The GDC Accountability Project, Inc. This request concerns Dennis J. Turner, a Deputy Warden assigned to Central State Prison. For the period January 1, 2022 to the present, the following existing records are requested: 1. The complete employment and assignment history for this employee, including all positions held, facilities assigned, effective dates, and title changes. 2. All records of disciplinary action taken against this employee, including reprimands, suspensions, demotions, and terminations, and the documents stating the basis for each. 3. All records of any suspension of this employee from duty, whether with or without pay, including the dates and the stated grounds. 4. All complaints filed against this employee by any person, whether by a member of the public, an offender, or a Department employee, and all records of the disposition of those complaints. 5. All Office of Professional Standards investigative files concerning this employee, and all records of any referral of this employee to Professional Standards, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, or to any prosecuting authority. 6. All records of any complaint, finding, or investigation concerning sexual harassment or sexual misconduct by this employee. 7. All use-of-force reports in which this employee is identified as a participant, and all supervisory reviews of those reports. 8. All records identifying litigation in which this employee has been named as a defendant in his official or individual capacity, including case caption, court, and disposition. PROCEDURAL AND STATUTORY NOTES The Department is advised of the following as to the exemptions most likely to be asserted against this request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(8) exempts material obtained in investigations related to the suspension, firing, or investigation of complaints against public officers or employees only until ten days after the same has been presented to the agency or an officer for action, or the investigation is otherwise concluded or terminated. That paragraph states expressly that it shall not be interpreted to make such investigatory records privileged. Accordingly, as to any concluded matter, or any matter presented for action more than ten days prior to this request, the records are subject to disclosure. Where the Department asserts this paragraph, please identify the date the matter was presented for action or the date the investigation concluded. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(21) exempts specified personal identifiers of public employees — home address, personal telephone numbers, date of birth, social security number, insurance and medical information, and financial data. It expressly excepts compensation by a government agency, and it does not exempt the fact of, or the basis for, disciplinary action. Personal identifiers falling within that paragraph should be redacted and the remainder produced. Records of an investigation into employee misconduct do not become exempt personnel records by virtue of being placed in a personnel file. See Irvin v. Macon Telegraph Publishing Co., 253 Ga. 43, 316 S.E.2d 449 (1984). An investigatory report concerning claims of misconduct against a state employee is a public record. See Fincher v. State, 231 Ga. App. 49, 497 S.E.2d 632 (1998). Response is requested within three business days per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(1)(A). Any withholding or redaction must be itemized with the specific Code section, subsection, and paragraph per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d); strict compliance is required, see Chua v. Johnson, 336 Ga. App. 298, 784 S.E.2d 449 (2016). Exemptions are to be narrowly construed and the custodian has a duty to produce all non-exempt portions of any record. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c)(1) requires use of the most economical means reasonably calculated to identify and produce responsive documents, with no charge for the first quarter hour. If estimated costs will exceed $25.00, please provide an itemized estimate before incurring them per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d). Electronic production is requested. The GDC Accountability Project, Inc.
> 
> Please be specific with your request to narrow our search and respond to you quickly and efficiently.

## What happened

- 2026-08-01: Request filed through GDC's open-records portal.
- 2026-08-06: GDC asked which items the date range "January 1, 2022 to the present" applied to; the request was clarified the same day and again on August 11.
- 2026-08-13: GDC released the employment and assignment history (item 1).
- 2026-08-19: GDC answered item by item: disciplinary documents uploaded after about 15 minutes of review and redaction; investigative files and grievances withheld as confidential; fee estimates for the remaining items.
- 2026-08-20: The request did not proceed on the items that carried fees.

Records requested under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), by Georgia Prisoners' Speak or, where a page says so, by another person or group who shared them with GPS. Documents marked "as released" are posted exactly as the agency released them. Files marked "prepared by GPS" are GPS's own compilations of those documents, made for convenience; where they differ, the released document governs. A request is published here when GPS cites it or when its records are useful to readers; records about individual deaths are published on GPS's mortality pages, not here.