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Kaigler, Briana
On GDC's 2025 payroll
Profile written November 1, 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 joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2017 as a Behavioral Health Counselor 2, advancing to Behavioral Health Counselor 3 (2019–2020) and Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor (2021) in staff positions the records do not assign to a specific facility. In 2022 she moved into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Coastal State Prison, a title she carried through 2025, and on July 16, 2026 she became Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at the same prison.
GPS's death registry attributes 85 deaths to her leadership tenure, all of them at Coastal State Prison. The records contain no lawsuit naming Kaigler as a defendant and no news report naming her directly. Two State of Georgia liability payouts tied to the prison fall inside her tenure, per the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger: $600,000 for a 2022 incident linked to a documented death record for Dennis Carpenter, and $8,000 for a 2023 incident involving Ronald Ray Agan.
What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden, Coastal State Prison (2022–2025). During this posting the records document deaths the GDC classified as homicides: Salomon Andres Ramirez, 43, died October 20, 2023, in what the GDC called an apparent homicide, with no cause stated and no death certificate available; Ryan Chase Archer, 25, died December 13, 2023, of a stab wound to the chest after a fight with other prisoners; and Raymond Littles, 49, died April 16, 2024, in an incident classified as a homicide, with another prisoner disciplined. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that Georgia prisons, Coastal State among them, were failing to protect inmates from violence and neglect and concluded GDC violated the Eighth Amendment. Two lawsuits reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January 2025 — described below — were reported while Kaigler held this role. On October 21, 2025, five inmates at the prison were indicted for a violent assault; the source provides no further detail. No lawsuit in the records names Kaigler as a defendant.
The registry names the following deaths during this posting:
- James Dion Gilmore died December 26, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending (age 46).
- Thomas Jacob Johnson died December 23, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 57).
- Jeffrey Brandon Deaton died December 20, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending.
- Nelson Nmn Williams died December 4, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 54).
- James Joseph Reinke died November 29, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 66).
- Thomas Floyd East died November 18, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 71).
- Christopher Eugene Smith died November 18, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 53).
- Eric Milton Bone died November 7, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 61).
- Jerry Lewis Manley died November 6, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 68).
- Ernest Denson died October 29, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 62).
- Randall Clark Morris died September 29, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 53).
- Steven Lee Waldemer died September 26, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 69).
- Cecil Sylvester Henderson died September 26, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 91).
- Jimmy Swanson died September 18, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 70).
- Mark Anthony Hill died August 12, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Natural/Medical (age 62).
- Michael Kendrick died July 29, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 51).
- Terrion Survine Wilson died June 20, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 63).
- Timothy Jones died June 14, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 51).
- Ronnie Bazemore died June 11, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 55).
- Audrey Bruce Swanson died June 11, 2025, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 71).
Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment, Coastal State Prison (from July 16, 2026). Two public Facebook posts by formerly incarcerated people, dated August 31 and September 5, 2026, describe conditions at the prison during 2021–2026. One person alleged he witnessed four deaths, beatings, restraints and torture, and said CERT members and correctional officers were present during at least one life-threatening incident without effective intervention; the other alleged that accurate counts were rare, that he witnessed killings and abuse including sexual assault, humiliation, restraint for days and burning, and that he was stabbed and beaten. These are the posters' claims, not findings. The registry names these deaths during this posting:
- Richard Lee Billstrom died September 15, 2026, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 66).
- James Daniel O'Bryant died September 13, 2026, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 56).
- Harold Clyde Fair died September 4, 2026, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 63).
- Sheldon Leroy Burns died September 1, 2026, at Coastal State Prison; Natural/Medical (age 64).
- Phillip Alexander George died July 16, 2026, at Coastal State Prison; Unknown/Pending (age 66).
Litigation
- Lawsuit filed by Rufus Ramon Lee's mother, reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on January 21, 2025, alleging that a broken cell lock allowed assailants from other cells and dorms to reach and kill him at Coastal State Prison. No court or disposition is stated in the records; Kaigler is not named as a defendant.
- Lawsuit in the death of Kion E. Parks, reported January 21, 2025, alleging five inmates stabbed Parks to death at Coastal State Prison on September 14, 2021. No court or disposition is stated; Kaigler is not named as a defendant.
- State liability settlement of $600,000 (GA DOAS Risk Management ledger) tied to Coastal State Prison and a 2022 incident linked to Dennis Carpenter's death.
- State liability settlement of $8,000 (GA DOAS Risk Management ledger) tied to Coastal State Prison and a 2023 incident involving Ronald Ray Agan.
Sources
- GPS death registry — 85 deaths at Coastal State Prison attributed to Kaigler's leadership tenure; named decedents and listed causes above.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide reporting and the Lee and Parks lawsuits, reported January 21, 2025, during her Deputy Warden tenure.
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation into Georgia prison conditions, including Coastal State Prison.
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $600,000 (Carpenter, 2022) and $8,000 (Agan, 2023) payouts.
- Facebook (public posts) — two witness accounts dated August 31 and September 5, 2026.
- WTOC Investigates — maintenance records from Coastal State Prison, May–November 2025, showing over $5,000 in pest control spending.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2026-07-16 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| 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 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
85 people died at facilities under Kaigler, Briana's leadership.
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