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McDay, Courtney
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 2026
Salary
$74,325
2025 · state payroll
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 began their career with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor, a staff-level position they held through 2021. In January 2022, McDay was promoted to deputy warden at Phillips State Prison, a facility-leader role they have occupied through at least 2025. During this tenure, GPS records attribute 54 in-custody deaths to the prison — a number that encompasses homicides, suicides, accidents, natural causes, and contested cases. The deaths triggered a federal lawsuit, Wright v. McDay, filed in 2023 and still pending, while a Department of Justice report, as summarized by GPS, found that a 2022 homicide inside the prison sparked a multi-facility gang war across Georgia’s prisons.What happened on their watch
Phillips State Prison, deputy warden (January 2022–present) McDay’s entire leadership tenure falls at Phillips State Prison, where GPS records document 54 deaths between June 2022 and early 2026. The deaths include at least 12 homicides, 7 suicides, multiple accidents, and a large number of natural-cause cases, with several classified as undetermined. The first recorded death on McDay’s watch was that of Jamal Cymonne Johnson, 32, who died from stab wounds to the head on June 11, 2022; it was followed by a string of stabbing deaths over the summer: Sidney Neally, 22 (July 18); Jacob Daniels, 19 (August 13); and Quafabian Melik McBride, 19 (September 30). According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officers at the prison allegedly arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit on the day he was killed in a gang-related stabbing. A DOJ investigation cited in GPS records found that McBride’s homicide ignited a gang war, with Bloods attacking Crips across multiple GDC facilities and 20 prisoners hospitalized in the days that followed. Later homicides sustained the pattern: Arthur Wimbush, 46, died from blunt force trauma to the neck in April 2023; David Fambro, 69, succumbed to complications of facial fractures in July 2024; and five more homicides were recorded between late 2024 and early 2026. One death — that of Leroy Brooks, 64, in December 2024 — was formally contested by his family; the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner declined jurisdiction and did not perform an autopsy, but Brooks’s daughter told authorities the death could not be natural, citing a history of beatings in custody and a prior lawsuit filed by his mother. The facility also tallied multiple suicides, including that of James Arthur Smith, 25, in August 2022, whose postmortem toxicology later showed high levels of methamphetamine, and the 2025 suicide of Terry Nichols, 42, whose toxicology was positive for warfarin. GPS notes that toxicology and full autopsy reports for some deaths remained incomplete for extraordinarily long periods — the October 2024 suicide of Nile Young, for example, still had no finalized report 21 months after the fact, a delay consistent with other cases at the prison. A pending federal civil lawsuit, Wright v. McDay, was filed on September 25, 2023, in the Northern District of Georgia, though the specific allegations remain unspecified in GPS records.Litigation
- Wright v. McDay (Case 1:23-cv-04358, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia) — filed September 25, 2023; status pending. No outcome or settlement amount listed.
Sources
- GPS records — mortality dataset, intel reports, and facility-event logs attributing 54 deaths at Phillips State Prison during McDay’s deputy warden tenure.
- Gwinnett County Coroner / GBI Medical Examiner reports — multiple cause-of-death and manner determinations for in-custody deaths at Phillips State Prison, received via Open Records Request (OCR’d 2026‑06‑26).
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on the McBride and Stone deaths, alleging officers arranged for McBride’s presence in the lockdown unit and detailing the assault on Dave Stone (2021, prior death referenced in intel).
- U.S. Department of Justice — findings, summarized by GPS, that the McBride homicide triggered a multi-prison gang war.
- GDC official mortality data (January 2025 PDF release) — cause-of-death entries for several decedents, including the homicides of Jody Stokes and Corey Cochran.
- CourtListener docket — Wright v. Mcday, case 1:23-cv-04358 (N.D. Ga.).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → present |
| 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
54 people died at facilities under McDay, Courtney's leadership.
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