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McDay, Courtney
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 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
McDay, a former behavioral health counselor in the Georgia Department of Corrections, moved into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Phillips State Prison in 2022 and remained in that role through the 2025 salary record; a dated entry also places McDay as Deputy Warden at Phillips on Aug. 27, 2026, immediately before a Superintendent posting at Arrendale Transitional Center effective Sept. 1, 2026. GPS records attribute 49 in-custody deaths to Phillips State Prison during McDay’s deputy warden tenure. One federal lawsuit, Wright v. McDay, was filed in 2023 and remains pending in the Northern District of Georgia.What happened on their watch
Phillips State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2022–2025
GPS records list 49 decedents at Phillips State Prison during McDay’s tenure, spanning June 11, 2022 through Nov. 8, 2025. The records include multiple homicides, suicides, natural deaths, and accidental deaths. Homicide cases documented during McDay’s time include Jamal Cymonne Johnson, 32, who died June 11, 2022 from stab wounds to the head injuring the brain; Sidney Sanchez Nealey, 22, who died July 18, 2022 from stab wounds to the torso; Jacob Kendall Daniels, 19, who died Aug. 13, 2022 from stab wounds to the neck, shoulder, and arm; Quafabian Melik McBride, 19, who died Sept. 30, 2022 from stab wounds to the chest injuring the heart during a gang-related fight in the lockdown unit; and Alim Rasheed Lovett, 33, who died Dec. 8, 2022 from stab wounds to the back injuring the right lung, with four other prisoners involved according to the incident report.A DOJ investigation, as summarized in GPS records, found that the McBride killing triggered a gang war across multiple GDC prisons, with Bloods attacking Crips and 20 prisoners hospitalized. Separately, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report cited in GPS records contains an allegation that officers arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit on the day he was killed.
Later homicide classifications during McDay’s tenure include Arthur James Wimbush Jr., 46, who died April 2, 2023 from blunt force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage; David Fambro, 69, who died July 24, 2024 from complications of facial fractures; and Alonzo Carter Jr., 78, whose Sept. 20, 2025 death was certified by the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner as homicide due to complications of blunt-force head trauma following a May 12, 2025 assault at Phillips. The Gwinnett examiner’s Carter report states that no custodial medical record had been received at the time of the determination.
The records also include suicides such as Joseph Ray Morrison, 57, on Sept. 9, 2022; William Jason McClure, 45, on March 11, 2024; Christopher Blake Hines, 37, on March 24, 2025; and Terry Nichols, 42, on Oct. 14, 2025. Natural deaths account for a substantial share of the 49, and accidental deaths include Justin Curtis Kinsey, 37, whose Nov. 8, 2025 death was attributed to fall trauma, and Jonathan Matthew Rucker, 42, whose Jan. 16, 2024 death involved acute methamphetamine use aggravating cardiomegaly, per medical examiner records. One death, Leroy Brooks, 64, on Dec. 9, 2024, was contested by family members, who told the Gwinnett Medical Examiner that they rejected a natural-causes finding and cited prior beatings; the family’s assertions are recorded in GPS records as allegations, and cause was kept undetermined.
Arrendale Transitional Center — Superintendent, 2026–present
GPS records list no deaths attributed to Arrendale Transitional Center during McDay’s Superintendent posting.Litigation
- Wright v. McDay, No. 1:23-cv-04358, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filed Sept. 25, 2023. Status: pending, per the CourtListener docket. No disposition or settlement amount is recorded in the provided data.
Sources
- GPS intelligence records — personnel postings, facility-level death records, Gwinnett County Medical Examiner/GBI Medical Examiner reports, and Georgia DOAS settlement data
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides list, including the Phillips State Prison allegation involving Quafabian Melik McBride
- DOJ investigation — referenced in GPS records as finding that the McBride homicide triggered a multi-prison gang war with 20 prisoners hospitalized
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Wright v. McDay, No. 1:23-cv-04358, via CourtListener
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Superintendent | ARRENDALE TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2026-09-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:23-cv-04358 | GAND | 2023-09-25 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
49 people died at facilities under McDay, Courtney's leadership.
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