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Philbin, Edward L
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
Edward L. Philbin appears in GPS records in correction administration in 2015, as Warden 1 in 2016 and 2017, and then as Warden at Augusta State Medical Prison from December 1, 2017 to November 30, 2022. GPS records attribute 179 deaths during his facility-leader tenure, all at Augusta State Medical Prison.
During the ASMP posting, multiple federal lawsuits naming Philbin as a defendant were filed and terminated. GPS settlement records also show state liability payouts tied to ASMP during his tenure, including $5,000,000 related to the death of Thomas Henry Giles, $517,000 related to Terry Anthony, and $2,726.03 related to Justina Collins-Powell.
What happened on their watch
Earlier postings (2015–2017)
The 2015 correction administration and 2016–2017 Warden 1 postings are not linked to a specific facility in GPS records, and no facility-level deaths are attributed to those postings.
Augusta State Medical Prison (December 2017 – November 2022)
GPS records attribute 179 deaths at Augusta State Medical Prison to Philbin’s tenure. The provided sample of death records, which is capped and not exhaustive, covers decedents from January 2020 through November 2022. Per Richmond County Coroner’s Office records, many of these deaths were natural: cancer, sepsis, cardiac disease, renal failure, COVID-19 pneumonia, and other end-stage conditions.
The sample also includes deaths classified as homicides, suicides, and accidents. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Thomas Henry Giles, 31, died on October 28, 2020 from smoke inhalation after being left in a smoke-filled cell; the GBI medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, and GPS records note a $5 million state settlement. Eddie Gosier, 39, died May 2, 2020; the AJC reported ligature strangulation and alleged that guards moved a prisoner with a violent strangulation history into Gosier’s cell hours before his death. Other homicide-classified deaths in the sample include Rapheal Zachary Milligan, William Taylor Bodge, Ali Lamont Tanner, and Terry Lee Bennett, according to AJC reporting and Richmond County Coroner’s Office records.
Suicide deaths in the sample include Seth Brandon Spangler and Daryl Wayne Gordon, both certified as suicide by the GBI medical examiner. GPS records also document cause-coding conflicts for some ASMP deaths during this period: for example, the medical examiner ruled Dwayne Cecil Lord’s death a suicide while the Georgia Department of Corrections coded it accidental; the coroner ruled Napoleon Evangelista’s death accidental while GDC coded it natural; and for David S. Toney, the coroner recorded natural/medical causes while GDC coded homicide.
Litigation
- Mosley v. Zachery, 1:15-cv-00029, GAMD, filed January 28, 2015; terminated September 21, 2017.
- Martin v. Philbin, 1:18-cv-00128, GASD, filed August 17, 2018; terminated January 8, 2019.
- Martin v. Philbin, 1:18-cv-00212, GASD, filed December 10, 2018; terminated October 23, 2019.
- Danenberg v. Philbin, 1:19-cv-00044, GASD, filed March 21, 2019; terminated December 20, 2019.
- Martin v. Philbin, 1:19-cv-00216, GASD, filed December 17, 2019; terminated January 8, 2020.
- Terrell v. Seals, 5:24-cv-00295, GAMD, filed August 27, 2024; pending.
No outcome amounts are listed in the court records provided for these cases.
Sources
- GPS personnel and mortality records
- Richmond County Coroner’s Office summaries
- GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy records
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Georgia Prison Homicides” investigation
- UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset
- CourtListener docket records
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 3 | 2018-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| Warden | AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON | 2017-12-01 → 2022-11-30 |
| WARDEN 1 | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:24-cv-00295 | GAMD | 2024-08-27 | pending |
| 1:19-cv-00216 | GASD | 2019-12-17 | terminated |
| 1:19-cv-00044 | GASD | 2019-03-21 | terminated |
| 1:18-cv-00212 | GASD | 2018-12-10 | terminated |
| 1:18-cv-00128 | GASD | 2018-08-17 | terminated |
| 1:15-cv-00029 | GAMD | 2015-01-28 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
179 people died at facilities under Philbin, Edward L's leadership.
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