Augusta, GA
Former Augusta State Medical Prison guards acquitted in inmate death
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two former guards at Augusta State Medical Prison have been found not guilty in connection with the death of an inmate.
A two-count federal indictment unsealed in August 2025 charged Robert Roberson and Marcus Phillips violating the constitutional rights of an inmate by showing deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm to an inmate, resulting in his death.
The indictment alleges that on Oct. 28, 2020, Roberson and Phillips became aware of a smoldering fire in an inmate’s cell.
Rather than extinguish the fire, evacuate the inmate from his cell, remediate the smoke from the cell or call a fire emergency over the radio, they willfully disregarded the substantial risk of serious harm to the inmate by leaving him in his locked cell for several hours while he slowly died from smoke inhalation, according to the indictment.
Roberson was also acquitted of a charge of falsifying a logbook to cover up misconduct.
Inmate deaths aren’t unheard of at the prison. Among the deaths there:
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