Holloway, Remona Annette

Tenure Summary

Remona Annette Holloway rose through administrative roles in the Georgia Department of Corrections, serving in human-resources positions before entering facility-level leadership. In October 2024 she became Deputy Warden of Administration at Augusta State Medical Prison, and beginning January 2025 she simultaneously held the position of Deputy Warden at Phillips State Prison. In November 2025 her role at Phillips was reclassified as Deputy Warden of Administration, and she remained in that post as of the latest data. During these deputy‑warden tenures, 84 deaths were recorded across the two facilities — 63 at Augusta State Medical Prison and 21 at Phillips State Prison.

Her time at Augusta coincided with the state’s $5 million settlement over the smoke‑inhalation killing of Thomas Henry Giles and the ongoing fallout from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that described horrific violence and a culture of indifference in Georgia prisons. At Phillips, she oversaw a period marked by homicides, suicides, and accidents, along with allegations of staff‑arranged gang violence reported by the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution.

What happened on their watch

Augusta State Medical Prison (Deputy Warden of Administration, October 2024 – January 2026)
During Holloway’s tenure, 63 people died. Most deaths were natural — cancers, organ failure, sepsis — reflecting the prison’s role as a long‑term medical facility. According to the Richmond County Coroner’s Office, among those who died were Ronnie Williams (colon cancer), Alfonzo Foster (lung‑cancer complications), and Joe Henry Davis (septic shock). Several non‑natural deaths also occurred: an accident from a fall caused blunt‑force head trauma (Darius Grant), asphyxia was ruled an accident (Trico Williams), and Stephen Prochaska died by hanging in a single cell in January 2025, confirmed as suicide by the GBI medical examiner. The GDC’s own January 2025 mortality report listed Kendius Hill’s death as a homicide, although the coroner later certified it as natural. While the 2024 stabbing death of Rodarick Lee Hayes and the 2020 smoke‑inhalation homicide of Thomas Henry Giles predated Holloway’s arrival, the legal and oversight consequences unfolded on her watch: a correctional officer was charged with aiding in the Hayes killing, the DOJ investigation publicly documented systemic failures to protect prisoners, and the state finalized a $5 million settlement with the Giles family in January 2025. Federal court proceedings in Benning v. Oliver also implicated conditions at Augusta — a judge found the GDC in contempt for defying court orders on inmate email access, and a department‑wide directive to stop enforcing the contested policy was issued during Holloway’s tenure.

Phillips State Prison (Deputy Warden, January 2025 – October 2025; Deputy Warden of Administration, November 2025 – present)
From January 2025 onward, 21 deaths were recorded. Gwinnett County coroner and GBI medical examiner reports detail a homicide by strangulation in the facility’s opening days (Jody Stokes, January 2025), two hangings ruled suicides (Christopher Hines in March, Terry Nichols in October — Nichols’ post‑mortem toxicology was positive for warfarin), and two accidents (Justin Kinsey in November, Kendrick Scales in August). Other deaths were natural, including those attributed to heart disease and end‑stage dementia. According to the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, allegations surfaced that officers had arranged for a prisoner to be moved to a lockdown unit where he was fatally stabbed in a gang‑related attack, and that another prisoner was assaulted with pipes in a mental‑health ward. These reports, while not tied to specific litigation against Holloway, indicate that during her tenure the prison continued to face accusations of serious violence and staff complicity.

Litigation

No lawsuits name Remona Annette Holloway as a defendant.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel tenure data and in‑custody death compilation
• Richmond County Coroner’s Office — summaries of Augusta State Medical Prison deaths (ORR conv 1118385a)
• Gwinnett County Coroner / GBI Medical Examiner — Phillips State Prison in‑custody death reports (ORR production received 2026‑06‑26)
• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — investigative reporting on homicides, settlements, and DOJ findings (articles published 2025‑2026)
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation report on violence and gang control in Georgia prisons
• Federal court records — Benning v. Oliver, contempt proceedings and First Amendment orders (2024‑2026)
• GDC official mortality report — January 2025 PDF (for early‑2025 causes of death at Augusta and Phillips)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 9, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.