Governor Brian Kemp announced Thursday that the winner of the May primary election for Cordele Circuit District Attorney will take office three months early.
Lyndsey Walters was appointed to serve as District Attorney for the Cordele Judicial Circuit. She was slated to be sworn in January 1, 2027, but was appointed early due to an unexpected vacancy in the district attorney’s office.
The vacancy was created by the quiet and unannounced departure of now-former District Attorney Brad Rigby. Rigby lost his bid for a new term in the May 19 Republican primary with Walters, taking 3,256 votes over Rigby’s 2,718. His term was supposed to continue through the end of the year, but Rigby departed office early for a job with the Department of Justice, leaving the already short staffed office with even fewer resources.
The primary drew attention to a backlog of pending cases in the circuit. A WALB News 10 investigation identified more than 4,200 unindicted or pending criminal cases across the four-county circuit. A February 2026 open records request revealed nearly 1,400 unindicted cases potentially subject to dismissal because the statute of limitations had expired. As of January 2026, the circuit had more than 4,000 warrants awaiting indictment.
Walters, an Irwin County native, moved back home after law school and worked briefly in civil litigation before beginning practice as a public defender. In 2025, she became the Court Administrator/ADR Director for the Cordele Judicial Circuit.
Walters graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She then received her Juris Doctor from Savannah Law School. She was active in the Student Bar Association and served as her class representative.
Walters is also an active member of the Rotary Club, attends Fellowship Baptist Church, enjoys volunteering with her local Community in Schools program, and is passionate about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
