Woman found dead, decomposing inside cell at Georgia state prison

Written by: A. Smith

Published September 23, 2025 @ 8:16 AM ET

HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. – Months after giving birth, a 32-year-old woman was found dead inside a sweltering cell at Lee Arrendale State Prison, raising questions about conditions and oversight inside Georgia’s largest women’s facility.

The Habersham County coroner’s report identified the woman as Sheqweetta Vaughan. Deputy Coroner Kenneth Franklin said the cause and manner of death remain undetermined following the July 9 incident.

According to his report, prison staff told him they last checked on Vaughan at 10:08 a.m. and found her unresponsive at 10:40 a.m. Franklin said he arrived at 12:10 p.m. and estimated she had been dead for two to four hours.

“Due to the temperature and humidity of the cell in which she was, it would have sped up decomposition considerably, making it difficult for an approximate determination,” Franklin wrote. He noted the cell temperature was in the 90s with little ventilation.

Amy Ard, executive director of the nonprofit Motherhood Beyond Bars, said Vaughan had given birth six months earlier and had participated in the group’s childbirth education program.

“Sheqweetta Vaughan had a two-year sentence; she fully expected to come home, and she won’t get that opportunity,” Ard said. “This is someone who was in a vulnerable postpartum period … The conditions of that solitary confinement were fairly inhumane. It was way too hot for anyone, postpartum or not, to be in a unit where there’s no airflow in Georgia in the summertime.”

Ard said prison policy requires checks on isolated inmates every 30 minutes, but she questions whether that occurred given Franklin’s description of Vaughan’s body and a noted “strong odor of decay.”

Franklin’s report also said no drugs or contraband were found in the cell. Vaughan’s body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an autopsy.

The Georgia Department of Corrections has not commented on the circumstances surrounding Vaughan’s death or whether required checks were made. The agency has announced plans to close or repurpose Lee Arrendale and replace it with a larger, renovated women’s prison.