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Kaigler, Briana
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 2026
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
Briana Kaigler began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Behavioral Health Counselor in 2017, progressing through supervisory counseling roles before being appointed Deputy Warden at Coastal State Prison in 2022. She remained in that position through at least the end of 2025, with GPS records indicating active service into early 2026. During her tenure as a facility deputy, GPS records attribute a total of 91 deaths to Coastal State Prison. The facility has been the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, repeated health inspection failures, and multiple lawsuits alleging violence and neglect. News reports and internal documents describe a “human rights crisis” at the prison, with workers and inmates pointing to systemic staff violence, food deprivation, and deteriorating infrastructure.What happened on their watch
Kaigler held the Deputy Warden post at Coastal State Prison continuously from January 2022 through the latest available records in early 2026. According to GPS data, 91 incarcerated people died at the facility during that period. The sample of deaths provided—capped at the most recent 200 records—shows fatalities spanning January 2022 to February 2026. The majority are categorized as natural or illness‑related, but several homicides are documented. Among them: Salomon Andres Ramirez (43) died in an apparent homicide in October 2023, per an Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation; Ryan Chase Archer (25) was stabbed to death in December 2023; Raymond Littles (49) was killed in April 2024 in an incident the GDC classified as homicide; and in late February 2026, Aiden Snapp (21) was brutally beaten, sustaining massive head injuries and a liver injury, while Anteveis Brown (49) was reportedly killed in a dorm‑wide assault. Two inmates died on a single day in February 2026, and another death occurred just days later.Multiple accounts describe a prison in crisis. A February 2026 WTOC report quoted workers and inmates who alleged that correctional officers regularly beat prisoners, withheld food as punishment, and imposed lockdowns of seven to ten days without shower access. The same report noted that GDC records show no officers were disciplined for violence against inmates during a six‑month span in 2025. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice investigation concluded that Georgia prisons—including Coastal State—violate the Eighth Amendment by failing to protect incarcerated people from violence and unsafe conditions. Health inspections revealed persistent problems: in April 2026, the Georgia Department of Public Health issued a score of 70 after finding live roaches, a dead mouse in backed‑up mop water, mold‑like growth on ceiling tiles, food held at unsafe temperatures, and a mildew‑filled ice machine. The facility’s health scores had been declining since at least February 2025. An inmate report from May 2026 described a kitchen shutdown, meager meals, and limited commissary, characterizing conditions as “literally starving us.”
During Kaigler’s tenure, lawsuits were filed over earlier deaths at the prison—though she was not named as a defendant in those cases. In January 2025, the family of Kion E. Parks (stabbed to death in September 2021) filed suit, and a separate case was brought by the mother of Rufus Ramon Lee (killed in December 2021) alleging a broken cell lock allowed attackers to reach him. These filings, along with the DOJ’s findings and the cascade of health and safety violations, give texture to the phrase “human rights crisis” that news sources attached to the facility Kaigler helped oversee.
Litigation
- Willis v. Government Employees Insurance Company, No. 5:23‑cv‑00430 (GAMD, filed Oct. 26, 2023, terminated Jan. 23, 2026). This insurance‑related suit names Kaigler as a defendant; it does not appear to arise from conditions at the prison.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel, deaths, and facility attribution data
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — homicide reporting and investigation of Salomon Andres Ramirez’s death
- WTOC (February 2026) — workers’ and inmates’ allegations of beatings, food denial, and infrastructure collapse
- The Georgia Virtue — health inspection findings (roaches, mouse, mold, temperature violations)
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation into unconstitutional conditions in Georgia prisons
- Court records — Willis v. GEICO; lawsuits reported in AJC and other outlets regarding Parks and Lee deaths
- Telegram relay reports (AI‑classified) — documentation of deaths of Malik Ortiz, DeJarvis Walker, and Aiden Snapp
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → present |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:23-cv-00430 | GAMD | 2023-10-26 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
91 people died at facilities under Kaigler, Briana's leadership.
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