Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Agbaosi, Mark
Agbaosi, Mark
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 2026
Salary
$125,174
2025 · state payroll
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Mark Agbaosi began his career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Correctional Officer at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in 2010 and rose steadily through staff and supervisory ranks — including Correctional Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Unit Manager — at the same facility. In 2023 he was promoted to Deputy Warden at GDCP, a facility-leadership post, and by early 2025 he had become Warden of Dooly State Prison. Across these two leadership tenures, GPS records attribute a total of 57 deaths to facilities under Agbaosi’s authority: 46 at GDCP during his time as Deputy Warden (2023–2024) and 11 at Dooly State Prison since his elevation to Warden in 2025. Agbaosi is also a named defendant in two pending federal civil rights lawsuits filed during those periods.What happened on their watch
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2023–2024)
While Agbaosi served as Deputy Warden, GPS records show 46 people died at GDCP. The decedents ranged in age from 25 to 76, and the overwhelming majority of deaths were recorded under cause category 6 — a non‑disclosed classification in the available data. Two deaths, however, were investigated by the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution as homicides: Carrell D. Johnson, 32, died on June 6, 2023 from “chopping injuries of the head and sharp‑force injuries of the torso,” and Elmer W. Pless, 65, was strangled on May 15, 2023. An AJC investigation also noted that in January 2024, Brandon Trace Burrell was assaulted by another inmate while reportedly under the effects of methamphetamine and suffered numerous stab wounds. The facility, which was designed for 800 people, housed 4,540 — 568% of its original capacity — during this period, with consultants hired by the governor describing widespread vandalism and infrastructure failures. Allegations of serious staff misconduct also surfaced: the AJC reported that an officer admitted to supplying a death row inmate with insider information about shakedowns, and that newly convicted inmates were found with contraband cell phones and homemade weapons within days of arrival. A federal lawsuit, Thrift v. Caldwell (5:24‑cv‑00002, GAMD), was filed on January 2, 2024, naming Agbaosi among the defendants; the case remains pending.Dooly State Prison (Warden, 2025–present)
Since Agbaosi assumed the warden’s post in early 2025, 11 deaths have been attributed to Dooly State Prison. At least three of those were homicides: Joshua Parrott, 45, died by strangulation on January 12, 2025; Horario Philmore, 58, was killed on February 2, 2025; and Darrow Brown, 58, was fatally stabbed on November 7, 2025 while being escorted by an officer, according to a user report. A coroner later alleged, as reported by the AJC, that an inmate who died at the prison may have lain dead in his cell for more than 24 hours before being discovered. The small facility (designed for 750) held 1,593 people and operated with a 50% statewide correctional officer vacancy rate; an investigation in late 2025 found housing units with no officer present for hours or an entire shift. Inmate‑on‑inmate violence erupted repeatedly: a gang‑related fight in March 2026 injured nine and triggered a statewide lockdown, and earlier, in April 2026, six inmates were hospitalized after a gang‑related altercation that required three Life Flights. Security failures also enabled a phone‑based fraud scheme operated from inside the prison, and a corrections officer cadet was caught attempting to smuggle 640 grams of pure methamphetamine into the facility. Agbaosi was named as a defendant in a second federal lawsuit, Miller v. Holt (5:25‑cv‑00356, GAMD), filed on August 25, 2025; that litigation is pending.Litigation
- Thrift v. Caldwell – Filed January 2, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (No. 5:24‑cv‑00002). Status: pending. Agbaosi is a defendant.
- Miller v. Holt – Filed August 25, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (No. 5:25‑cv‑00356). Status: pending. Agbaosi is a defendant.
Sources
- GPS records — death counts, facility assignments, and career timeline for Mark Agbaosi
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Ga prison homicides: a list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” (details of Carrell D. Johnson, Elmer W. Pless, Brandon Trace Burrell, and coroner’s allegation at Dooly)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Georgia prisons in crisis, say consultants hired by governor” (overcrowding and infrastructure failures at GDCP)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Prison’s inside job” (staff misconduct at GDCP)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Locked up but not stopped: Georgia prisoners run drug‑trafficking networks” (contraband at GDCP)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Georgia DA warns prison conditions threaten public safety” (security failures at GDCP)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — “Prison system failures cost Georgia taxpayers millions” (medical neglect allegation at Dooly)
- WGXA / 13WMAZ — reports on gang‑related fights and staffing crises at Dooly State Prison
- WALB — inmate fraud scheme from Dooly State Prison
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — allegations of medical neglect at Dooly
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia dockets (CourtListener) — Thrift v. Caldwell and Miller v. Holt
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2025-02-16 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2018-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2010-01-01 → 2010-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:25-cv-00356 | GAMD | 2025-08-25 | pending |
| 5:24-cv-00002 | GAMD | 2024-01-02 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
57 people died at facilities under Agbaosi, Mark's leadership.
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