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McDay, Courtney
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 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
Courtney McDay worked as a behavioral health counselor in the Georgia Department of Corrections from 2015 through 2021, then moved into custodial leadership as Deputy Warden at Phillips State Prison from January 2022 through 2025. GPS records attribute 49 in-custody deaths to Phillips State Prison during that deputy warden tenure. In September 2026, McDay was appointed Superintendent of Arrendale Transitional Center; no deaths are attributed to that posting. One federal lawsuit naming McDay as a defendant, Wright v. Mcday, was filed in the Northern District of Georgia on September 25, 2023, and remains pending. No settlements naming McDay are recorded.
What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden — Phillips State Prison (Jan. 2022 – Dec. 2025)
GPS records attribute 49 deaths to Phillips State Prison during McDay's tenure as Deputy Warden. The decedent list shows a pronounced cluster of stabbing homicides in 2022: Jamal Cymonne Johnson (June 11), Sidney Neally (July 18), Jacob Daniels (Aug. 13), Quafabian Melik McBride (Sept. 30), and Alim Lovett (Dec. 8). According to DOJ findings reflected in GPS intel records, the McBride killing triggered a gang war across multiple GDC prisons, with Bloods attacking Crips over several days and 20 prisoners hospitalized. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported an allegation that officers arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit the day he was killed. Suicides recorded in the same period include James Smith and Joseph Morrison.
Deaths recorded in 2023 include Arthur Wimbush (April 2), certified as homicide from blunt-force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage, and Randall Futch (June 8), initially recorded as natural/cardiac and later ruled a homicide from delayed complications of blunt-force head trauma, per the Richmond County Coroner's office.
In 2024, the records include homicides of David Fambro (69, complications of facial fractures, July 24), Timothy Hurley (19, Sept. 8), Brandon Mincey (Oct. 11), and Corey Cochran (Dec. 18), as well as suicides of Jerry Hunnicutt, William McClure, and Nile Young. The December 9, 2024 death of Leroy Brooks was contested: according to the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's file, the ME declined jurisdiction, and the decedent's daughter told investigators the death "can't be natural causes," citing a history of beatings in custody. The cause remained undetermined/pending in GPS records.
In 2025, deaths include Jody Stokes (Jan. 13), certified as homicide by strangulation; Alonzo Carter Jr. (78), certified as homicide from complications of blunt-force head trauma following a May 12, 2025 assault at Phillips — a determination the medical examiner issued without receiving GDC custodial medical records, leaving a 131-day care gap outside the ME's review; suicides of Christopher Hines (March 24) and Terry Nichols (Oct. 14); and accidents involving Kendrick Scales (Aug. 27) and Justin Kinsey (Nov. 8). Numerous natural deaths are also recorded throughout the deputy warden tenure.
The AJC separately reported a claim that Dave Stone was assaulted in a mental health ward at Phillips, apparently with two pipes wrapped in a cloth, and died after being taken off life support. GPS records date Stone's death to Nov. 20, 2021 — before McDay's January 2022 deputy warden start date.
Superintendent — Arrendale Transitional Center (Sept. 2026 – present)
GPS records show no deaths attributed to Arrendale Transitional Center during McDay's superintendent tenure.
Litigation
- Wright v. Mcday, No. 1:23-cv-04358 (N.D. Ga.), filed September 25, 2023; status pending. No disposition or settlement amount is recorded in GPS data.
Sources
- Gwinnett County Coroner / GBI Medical Examiner records for Phillips State Prison in-custody deaths (received and OCR'd 2026-06-26)
- Gwinnett County Medical Examiner open-records productions, including conversation govqa-R291519-082426 (produced Aug. 26, 2026)
- GBI Division of Forensic Sciences toxicology records for multiple Phillips decedents (2022–2025)
- GDC-released January 2025 mortality data
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides list (McBride and Stone allegations)
- DOJ findings on the September 2022 McBride homicide and subsequent multi-prison gang violence, as recorded in GPS intel events
- Federal court docket: Wright v. Mcday, No. 1:23-cv-04358, N.D. Ga., 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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