AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON

Last updated August 30, 2026.(DS)

Augusta State Medical Prison: A Medical Hub Where Violence and Neglect Converge

Augusta State Medical Prison (ASMP) in Grovetown, Richmond County, opened in 1983 and serves as the state's flagship close-security medical facility, providing level-V specialty medical and mental-health care for seriously ill and high-acuity incarcerated people from across the system. Built in 1982, it combines general housing units with an on-site hospital that includes acute-care, long-term-care, crisis, and pre-/post-operative beds. It primarily houses men but can receive women for medical treatment. The facility's original design capacity was 535; its current rated capacity is 1,326, and GPS records show a population of 1,150 — 86.7% of rated capacity. Warden Deshawn B. Jones has led the facility since June 16, 2024, with five deputy wardens serving under him.

The facility's programming record is thin. GPS has received recurring family reports that education access at ASMP is effectively unavailable, with staff citing facility policy as justification, and that tablet devices issued to incarcerated people serve primarily as distraction rather than meaningful rehabilitative or educational tools. The one documented program is Pups in the Pen, through which incarcerated men foster and train rescue dogs — an initiative GDC reports has placed more than 120 dogs in homes over roughly two years.

A Death Toll Without Parallel in the System

GPS has tracked 390 deaths at Augusta State Medical Prison since 2020, the earliest year for which GPS mortality records exist. Of those, 280 are classified as natural or medical, 77 remain unknown or pending, 13 are suicides, 10 are homicides, 9 are accidents, and 1 is categorized as other. The homicide count is the most striking figure: a medical prison, designed to house the system's sickest and most vulnerable men, has recorded 10 killings in custody since 2020.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has documented the names and circumstances of many of these deaths. Thomas Henry Giles, 31, died on October 28, 2020 from inhalation of products of combustion after being left in his smoke-filled cell for hours while officers evacuated nearby inmates; the GBI ruled his death a homicide. The state agreed to pay his family $5 million to settle a lawsuit over his death, and the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger shows a separate $3 million state liability payout tied to the same incident. Eddie Gosier, 39, died on May 2, 2020 by ligature strangulation hours after inmate Daniel Luke Ferguson was moved into his cell by guards; Ferguson had a prior history of strangling an inmate at Hays State Prison. Terry Lee Bennett II, 43, died January 10, 2021 from blunt impact to the head. Ali Lamont Tanner, 45, died July 2, 2021 from a stab wound to the neck. William Taylor Bodge, 61, died February 5, 2022 from delayed complications of blunt force injuries to the head suffered weeks earlier. Raphael Zachery Milligan, 41, died July 21, 2022 from blunt force injuries and strangulation; another prisoner was charged with his murder. Amos Bennett Huff Jr., 60, died March 30, 2023 by strangulation; his 26-year-old cellmate was charged. Randall Joey Futch, 61, died June 8, 2023 from delayed complications of blunt force head trauma. Thomas Preston Johnson, 56, died April 12, 2024 in a homicide. Lamar Wesson Phillips, 39, died June 8, 2024 in an inmate-to-inmate assault.

The most recent deaths in GPS's mortality database include Jacobi Alandis Chomicki, 23, who died May 22, 2026. GDC reported his cause of death as undetermined, with his body turned over to the Richmond County Coroner's Office for transport to the GBI crime lab. The GDC Office of Professional Standards is investigating as standard procedure. GPS records show a second homicide in June 2026: Wanique Marsay Odwin, 44, who died June 29, 2026.

The Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger shows a pattern of state liability payouts tied to ASMP: $517,000 for Terry Anthony (incident 2021), $3,000,000 for Thomas Henry Giles (incident 2020), $100,000 for Adrian Jenkins (2017), $10,000 for Montra Moss (2017), $17,500 for Eugene Griggs (2017), $300,000 for George Washington Hardy (2015), $2,726 for Justina Collins-Powell (2022), and $9,500 for Tangela Williams (2017). These payouts, drawn from the state's risk management ledger under open records, represent the financial cost of harm at the facility — but the human cost is the 390 deaths GPS has documented.

Staff Abuse of Disabled Patients and the Retaliation Machine

In February 2026, two incidents in consecutive days at ASMP established what GPS staff characterize as a pattern of staff misconduct against disabled patients. On February 14, 2026, around dinnertime, Janette Shields, a Certified Nursing Assistant employed at ASMP, allegedly struck Bruce Charles Smith with an open hand in the prison's medical wing. Smith, who is disabled and requires assistance with daily living tasks and medical care, is housed in the medical wing; GDC records show his weight as 103 pounds, while a news article reported 111 pounds. Shields was arrested on February 14.

The following day, February 15, 2026, a CNA identified as Williams allegedly locked the door of Anthony Shedd's room, refused to help him eat, refused to empty his catheter bag, and cursed at him. Shedd is a quadriplegic patient housed at ASMP, entirely dependent on staff for feeding, catheter care, and repositioning. His GDC ID is 0000567033, and he was housed at ASMP as of October 8, 2024, November 19, 2024, and February 15, 2026. GDC's live database lookup as of April 17, 2026 still showed him as "active" at ASMP.

The aftermath of Shedd's complaint illustrates the retaliation dynamic GPS has documented at the facility. The ASMP warden allegedly made threats of retaliation against Shedd for reporting CNA Williams, communicated via a phone call to Cindy Robertson, identified as a contact person associated with Shedd's case, approximately February 20–21, 2026. GPS staff assessed that conduct by the warden may implicate federal civil rights laws, including the First Amendment and the ADA, and that linking the filing of complaints to disciplinary consequences constitutes retaliation under GDC policies. GPS staff observed that a medical staff member at ASMP has faced criminal charges, noted as potentially relevant context for legal proceedings.

GPS's own staff observations corroborate the pattern: GPS staff observed a documented pattern of staff abuse and administrative cover-up at Augusta State Medical Prison, and a pattern of staff abuse allegations involving multiple incidents in close succession in 2024–2025. GPS staff characterized a reported refusal to assist an incarcerated person with eating as denial of basic medical care, and observed an allegation of denial of basic medical care involving catheter management.

The Shedd Case: A Quadriplegic's Medical Records and the Wheeler Connection

Anthony Shedd's case file at GPS spans hundreds of pages of medical records — pages 1501 through 1552 and 1601 through 1652, totaling 100 pages in the case file. The records document a man with multiple confirmed chronic conditions who became quadriplegic through progressive nerve damage. GPS staff records indicate that an incarcerated person's underlying medical condition led to permanent nerve damage, and family attestation alleges that a treatable condition went undiagnosed for several years, leading to quadriplegia.

The medical records reveal a troubling trajectory. A substantial volume of Shedd's medical records originated from Wheeler Correctional Facility, a CoreCivic-operated facility. GPS staff identified a potential pattern of medical neglect at Wheeler Correctional that warrants investigation, and staff plan to cross-reference medical neglect patterns at Wheeler with other case submissions and mortality data. The case against Wheeler Correctional / CoreCivic involves allegations of medical negligence. A family member alleges that critical labs were not drawn at Wheeler in 2024, that an incarcerated person was placed in punitive isolation there, and that an incarcerated person was accused of malingering despite documented physical decline.

At ASMP, the records show a pattern of delayed and inadequate response to progressive neurological symptoms. In April 2024, a sick call note documented no follow-up plan for an incarcerated person reporting several months of progressive neurological symptoms, and no diagnostic orders after a patient reported progressive neurological symptoms lasting four months. No provider examination occurred following that report. A chest X-ray was ordered following reported symptoms of weakness and loss of balance, but no neurosurgical referral was made after an MRI revealed cord compression. A medical provider delayed reviewing and signing a cervical spine MRI result for several days in 2024. GPS internal analysis found that abnormal lab values from an intake screening in 2024 were not documented as having been reviewed by a provider, and no renal workup was ordered following abnormal intake lab values.

The nursing documentation standards at ASMP are themselves part of the record. The Infirmary/OPHU Nurse Round Progress Note form used at ASMP carries form number Infirmary/OPHU I006.1 and was last revised May 24, 2022, with Karina Purcell listed as Form Owner. The form flags oxygen saturation below 90%, temperature above 101°F, respiratory rate persistently at or below 10 or at or above 20, pulse at or above 110 or at or below 60, and blood pressure with systolic at or above 180 or at or below 90, or diastolic at or above 110 or at or below 60, as requiring health care provider contact. These are the standards against which the care documented in Shedd's records must be measured.

Benning v. Oliver: A First Amendment Victory from a Medical Prison

Ralph Harrison Benning, an incarcerated person at Augusta State Medical Prison, filed a 2018 lawsuit challenging GDC restrictions and censorship on inmate emails, including a limit of 12 email contacts tied to the in-person visitation log. The case became one of the most significant First Amendment rulings against GDC in recent years.

In 2024, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Benning a favorable ruling concluding that GDC could not limit his email contacts to 12 individuals listed on his in-person visitation log who had been cleared by a background check. In November 2024, Benning filed a motion claiming that GDC was "willfully and intentionally" refusing to comply with the appellate court order and that he "continues to be subject to email-contact restriction." On February 11, 2026, Judge Self held a 35-minute hearing in Macon during which he summoned GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver to the witness stand and scolded the department for failing to follow court orders on inmate email access. Judge Self found it "shocking" and "unbelievable" that GDC ignored a court order from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, suggesting the department acts as if it is "above the law." Early in 2026, following Judge Self's order, GDC sent a directive to all prison wardens and superintendents to no longer enforce the portion of the policy limiting email contacts.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the contempt finding, noting that a federal judge in Middle Georgia had previously found GDC in contempt for disregarding mandates to improve conditions in a high-security prison wing near Jackson, issuing a 100-page order finding state prison officials willfully disregarded requirements.

Food Safety Scores and the Sanitation Contradiction

The Georgia Department of Public Health has conducted routine food-safety inspections at ASMP's multiple kitchens. The scores are consistently high: 100 (December 19, 2023), 100 (June 25, 2024), 96 (June 25, 2024), 95 (December 3, 2024), 97 (December 4, 2024), 100 (April 11, 2025), 91 (April 11, 2025), 99 (August 15, 2025), 90 (August 15, 2025), 98 (February 26, 2026), and 91 (February 26, 2026). All received Grade A ratings. Violations cited include food-contact surfaces not properly cleaned and sanitized, warewashing facilities not properly maintained, food not in good condition or safe, proper cold holding temperatures not maintained, and food not separated and protected.

GPS has documented a systemic pattern of food-service sanitation failure across GDC kitchens that DPH inspection scores systematically fail to capture: tray-sanitizing dishwashers broken for sustained periods, sustained roach and rodent infestation in kitchen and serving areas, and meals served on visibly contaminated trays. The pattern is hidden from DPH scores because inspections are scheduled walkthroughs that do not assess equipment under load and because GPS has documented professional overlap between inspectors and facility staff in small-county settings. High DPH scores at GDC facilities coexist with sustained witness reports of equipment failure and food contamination. At ASMP specifically, GPS has received recurring reports of housing units with severe pest problems including large roaches, and of staff being expected to distribute food that has been left unrefrigerated rather than maintained at a safe temperature.

The Systemic Context: Staffing Collapse and Gang Control

GPS's systemic findings place ASMP's violence and neglect within a statewide pattern. Officer vacancies in Georgia's prisons have run between 49.3% and 60% systemwide for multiple years, against a national standard of no more than 10%. The October 2024 DOJ findings letter explicitly concluded that "the leadership of the Georgia Department of Corrections has lost control of its facilities" and faulted GDC for placing "too much blame on gangs and insufficient emphasis on understaffing." Approximately 31% of the system's ~49,000 incarcerated population are validated members of 315 different security threat groups — more than double the national average. DOJ and the Guidehouse 2024 consultant assessment independently concluded that gangs effectively run multiple facilities, controlling access to phones, showers, food, and bed assignments.

At ASMP, GPS has received recurring family reports that severely inadequate staffing levels have allowed gang leadership to operate as a de facto authority within the facility, and that an incarcerated person was deliberately placed in a cell with an individual known to have committed sexual assault. GPS records show 15 sources reporting assault by incarcerated people at ASMP over the 12-month lookback, with 5 cases across 6 months at critical and high severity, including external complaints to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the DOJ Civil Rights Division. GPS records also show 7 sources reporting medical neglect allegations, 6 reporting staff misconduct allegations, and 4 reporting staffing shortages.

The DOJ investigation of Georgia prisons found that Rodarick Lee Hayes, 29, had been attacked on multiple occasions before his death at ASMP on May 25, 2024 from sharp force injury of the torso. Two prisoners and a correctional officer have been charged with murder; the officer is accused of aiding in the attack. The AJC reported that a correctional officer is accused of aiding in the attack that led to Hayes's stabbing death.

The Parole Process and the Question of Performative Review

In 2025, members of the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles visited Augusta State Medical Prison and interviewed a small group of long-serving incarcerated individuals identified by facility leadership as candidates for parole consideration. GPS has received recurring reports — from family members and anonymous tips — that the process may have been performative rather than resulting in genuine parole action. As of early 2026, multiple individuals at ASMP who had been selected for parole consideration had not been released. Family members report that a Board member indicated that a small number of incarcerated individuals had been selected from the facility's general population for an unspecified process, and that individuals selected had served lengthy sentences of 30 years or more. A family member reports that during a 2025 parole board visit, a Board member made encouraging remarks to a group of incarcerated individuals prior to parole interviews, and that staff were asked to identify life-sentenced individuals for parole consideration.

The parole process at ASMP is part of a broader pattern GPS has documented. A federal judge denied dismissal of a parole process lawsuit in March 2026, finding that Georgia's juvenile lifer parole system may be an unconstitutional sham, and a parole board denied release for a fifth time without providing documentation of differentiation between juvenile and adult offenders as required by Supreme Court precedent.

The Washington State Prison Riot and the Statewide Lockdown

On January 11, 2026, a gang-war riot at Washington State Prison killed four incarcerated people: Teddy Jackson, 27; Ahmod Hatcher, 23; Jimmy Trammell, 42, who was days from release; and Silas Westbrook, 42, who died January 17 after hospital release. A fifth death, Dajhmere Hall, 30, occurred January 9, two days before the riot. Twelve inmates were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation, announced approximately April 28, 2026. Washington State Prison was placed on continuous lockdown after the riot and had not reopened more than five months later.

The riot was part of a statewide coordinated gang violence outbreak across the Georgia prison system, with 13 facilities locked down. GPS has documented the Blood on Blood factional war between ROLACC and G-Shine sets as the underlying driver. At ASMP, GPS has received recurring reports of a facility-wide lockdown in 2026, with inmate witnesses reporting that the lockdown was imposed for a reason unrelated to a stabbing. Family members report that during lockdowns at ASMP, incarcerated individuals lack access to air conditioning, have been denied access to microwaves, receive only limited meals delivered to their cells, and that extended lockdowns lasting several weeks occur during which incarcerated individuals are allegedly denied outdoor time.

The Mortality Floor and the Question of What Is Known

GPS's mortality database for ASMP is a floor, not a ceiling. GDC reports deaths approximately two months late, and GPS's records begin January 1, 2020. The 390 deaths GPS has tracked at ASMP since 2020 include 77 whose cause remains unknown or pending. The most recent deaths in GPS's records include Donald Hugh Young (August 5, 2026), Phillip Curtis Walker, 62 (July 16, 2026), Kolby Young, 24 (July 13, 2026), Edouard Kamdem, 77 (July 12, 2026), Joseph Daniel Bristol, 73 (July 11, 2026), and David James Vineyard, 58 (July 3, 2026).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's two-year investigation into GDC corruption, understaffing, and homicides revealed rampant corruption, massive understaffing, and record homicides within the GDC, even as state officials clamped down on releasing information about deaths inside its prisons. The 2024 DOJ report described horrific violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons within the GDC enabled by a culture of indifference.

Sources

This analysis draws on reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and GDC press releases; federal court filings in Benning v. Oliver; the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger obtained through open records; Georgia Department of Public Health food-safety inspection reports; GDC Standard Operating Procedures and nursing documentation standards; GPS's own mortality database, staff observations, and systemic findings; and family and inmate accounts collected by GPS staff. The Washington State Prison riot narrative draws on GPS's event relationship graph and mortality records.