PHILLIPS STATE PRISON

Last updated September 6, 2026.(DS)

Phillips State Prison in Buford, Georgia, opened in 1990 and is officially classified as a close-security facility for adult male felons, though many sources still refer to it as medium security. The facility has 10 housing units with a mix of two-man and single-man cells, about 100 isolation/segregation cells, and a linked transitional center. It has hosted a campus of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and offers education and faith-based programming, but it has also been involved in federal corruption prosecutions over officers trafficking contraband and drugs.

GPS's mortality database records 69 deaths at Phillips State Prison since tracking began in January 2020 — a count GPS treats as a floor, since GDC reports deaths roughly two months late. Of those, 36 are categorized as natural or medical, 14 as homicide, 8 as suicide, 5 as overdose, 1 as accident, 1 as medical neglect, and 4 as unknown or pending. The facility's current population is approximately 671, against a rated capacity of 918 — an occupancy rate of 73.1 percent. Warden Aaron Thomas Pineiro has led the facility since June 2024, with Deputy Warden of Administration Remona Annette Holloway, Deputy Warden of Security Dorothy Andre, and Deputy Warden Joshua Craig Fulbright serving in senior roles.

A Homicide Cluster and the McBride Killing

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has documented a sustained pattern of violent deaths at Phillips State Prison. Alim Rasheed Lovett, 33, died on December 8, 2022 from stab wounds to the back injuring the right lung, with four other prisoners involved according to the incident report. Jacob Kendall Daniels, 19, died on August 13, 2022 from a stab wound to the neck, shoulder, and arm. Sidney Sanchez Nealey, 22, died on July 18, 2022 from stab wounds to the torso. Jamal Cymonne Johnson, 32, died on June 11, 2022 from stab wounds to the head injuring the brain, with delayed effects. Arthur James Wimbush Jr., 46, died on April 2, 2023 from blunt force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage. David Fambro, 69, died on July 24, 2024 from complications of facial fractures with an interval of 26 days; incident report data shows a homicide.

The most consequential of these deaths was that of Quafabian Melik McBride, 19, who died on September 30, 2022 from stab wounds to the chest injuring the heart during a gang-related fight in the lockdown unit. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that officers allegedly arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit on the day he was killed — a detail that places staff decision-making at the center of the killing. The Department of Justice found that the killing triggered a gang war at multiple GDC prisons, with Bloods attacking Crips over several days and 20 prisoners being hospitalized.

Dave Stone, 61, died on November 20, 2021 from closed head trauma with delayed effects. His sister told the AJC he was in a mental health ward when he was assaulted, apparently with two pipes wrapped in a cloth, after which his brain was no longer functioning and he was taken off life support.

GPS has also recorded deaths at Phillips State Prison that remain pending review: Wayne A. Lockett, whose death report was filed on December 23, 2024; Randall Futch, filed June 8, 2023; and Anthony Lamar Johnson, filed October 10, 2021. GPS staff records indicate the facility recorded 18 deaths in 2024 and 16 deaths in 2025.

The Wimbush Killing and the Bed-Math Mechanism

GPS's investigative reporting has focused on the death of Arthur James Wimbush Jr. in particular. In an article titled "Nowhere to Put Him: How Georgia's Bed Math Killed a Man Thirty Days From Home," GPS documented that Wimbush was killed at Phillips State Prison thirty days from release. The Chief of Security said every segregation bed was full, so there was nowhere to put a man who needed protecting. The medical examiner certified homicide. The article's framing — that Georgia's bed math is the mechanism — connects the killing directly to the facility's physical plant and classification practices.

Inmate accounts collected by GPS describe a pattern at Phillips State Prison in which incarcerated people who faced credible threats were moved into housing units where those threats could be carried out. Multiple witnesses report that staff released an incarcerated person from segregation and assigned them to a dorm where other incarcerated people threatened to kill them. Family members report that administrative segregation beds at Phillips State Prison were full, and individuals without disciplinary infractions were held in lockdown beds for months due to lack of space. One family member reported that a lieutenant returned an incarcerated person to the same dormitory the next morning after the person had been removed.

These accounts are consistent with the systemic finding GPS has documented across GDC: classification drift, in which medium-security facilities operate as close-security facilities without adequate staffing and infrastructure. GPS's reporting on classification drift, published as of October 27, 2025, documents that medium-security facilities are housing disproportionate numbers of close-security inmates. Phillips State Prison, officially close-security, sits within this broader pattern.

Staffing Collapse and Gang Control

GPS has documented that officer vacancies in Georgia's prisons have run between 49.3 percent and 60 percent systemwide for multiple years, against a national standard of no more than 10 percent. 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 percent of the system's roughly 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 Phillips State Prison specifically, inmate witnesses report that prior to a recent administration change, gangs had an informal agreement to not enforce hierarchy and to resolve conflicts through negotiation. That agreement was enforced primarily by an alliance between two groups. Gang-affiliated incarcerated people at Phillips State Prison refused to comply with a facility agreement, considering it too lenient. The McBride killing — in which officers allegedly arranged for a 19-year-old to be brought to the lockdown unit where he was stabbed to death — is the clearest documented example of how staff decisions intersect with gang violence at this facility.

The DOJ investigation in October 2024 cited Eighth Amendment violations at Phillips State Prison. That finding places the facility within the federal government's broader conclusion that GDC leadership has lost control of its facilities.

Sexual Violence and PREA Failures

GPS has documented that sexual violence in Georgia Department of Corrections facilities is systemic. The October 2024 DOJ findings letter concluded that sexual assault is "rampant" and that GDC does not reasonably protect incarcerated people, including LGBTI individuals, from sexual harm. Of 456 sexual-abuse allegations recorded in 2022, only 35 were substantiated — 7.7 percent. GDC's own consultants, PREA Auditors of America, reviewed 388 PREA investigation files in May 2022 and found that not one met the law's standards. Georgia has never submitted a PREA certification of full compliance to the U.S. Department of Justice in the law's two-decade history.

At Phillips State Prison, inmate witnesses report that senior staff facilitated the sexual abuse of young inmates. Multiple accounts describe an incarcerated person who was sexually abused for years at Phillips State Prison while staff were aware. One witness reports that an incarcerated person was videotaped being beaten and raped by multiple gang members. Another reports that an incarcerated person was forced at knifepoint to perform a sexual act. A family member of an incarcerated person contacted the DOJ and PREA auditors to report alleged abuse.

GPS notes a conflict between a clean PREA audit finding at Phillips State Prison and allegations that the screening system was for sale. A Cycle 3 PREA audit for Phillips State Prison is published, but GPS editorial notes that the audit's clean finding on retaliation standards conflicts with an allegation of retaliation for protecting another incarcerated person. An inmate witness reports that an incarcerated person was placed in lockdown for attempting to protect another incarcerated person.

Infrastructure Failure and Contraband

GPS has documented a systemic pattern of infrastructure collapse across GDC facilities, treating it as a force multiplier for the violence, classification, gang-control, and mortality crises GPS has documented at the facility level. Most GDC facilities are 30-40-plus years old, with documented patterns of deferred maintenance that have produced systemwide infrastructure failures: broken cell-door locks, inoperative surveillance and fire-alarm systems, mold and water failures, broken kitchen sanitization equipment, and pest infestations.

At Phillips State Prison specifically, inmate witnesses report that the warden made a contract to install low-water-flow toilets and automatic shut-off valves on showers. The automatic shower shut-off valves failed within days of installation because they were not designed for heavy prison use. All automatic shower shut-off valves at Phillips State Prison have been tied off, causing showers to run continuously. The new low-flow commodes must be flushed three times to empty.

The facility also contracted for a cellphone containment system that cost several million dollars. Inmate witnesses report that the system does not completely contain cellphone usage, and that it created hotspots that gang members fought over. One witness reports that the cellphone containment system has been targeted for destruction by inmates with mental health conditions to obtain drugs from gang members. GPS's reporting has documented that Georgia spent $50 million deploying phone-blocking technology at 35 prisons, and that homicides quadrupled — at every facility where GPS confirmed activation dates, violence erupted within weeks.

Phillips State Prison has a history associated with Operation Ghost Guard, a federal corruption prosecution over officers trafficking contraband and drugs.

Settlements and Legal Exposure

The Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger records three liability payouts tied to Phillips State Prison. The largest — $700,000 — was paid to Demitri Carter for a 2017 incident. Steven A. Whitt received $5,000 for a 2019 incident, and Terry Allen received $2,500 for a 2018 incident. These settlements, obtained through open records, document that the state has paid to resolve claims arising from conditions at this facility.

GPS staff have acknowledged a current gap in firsthand source intelligence coverage at Phillips State Prison. That gap is significant given the facility's documented mortality record and the pattern of allegations from inmate witnesses and family members. GPS has received recurring reports of deaths at Phillips State Prison that were treated as routine, of staff members being reprimanded for procedural issues rather than for deaths, and of termination packets being discarded while the staff members involved were later promoted.

Sources

This analysis draws on reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; federal court records and the October 2024 Department of Justice findings letter; Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledgers obtained through open records; GPS's own investigative reporting, including "Nowhere to Put Him: How Georgia's Bed Math Killed a Man Thirty Days From Home" and GPS's classification-drift analysis; GPS's mortality database; and inmate and family accounts collected by GPS staff.