A federal grand jury this week in Georgia indicted former Augusta State Medical Prison correctional officers Robert Roberson and Marcus Phillips for violating an inmate’s constitutional rights by showing deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm, leading to his death. Roberson also faces a charge of falsifying a logbook to cover up his actions.
The indictment alleges that on Oct. 28, 2020, both officers ignored a smoldering fire in the inmate’s cell—failing to extinguish it, evacuate the inmate, remove the smoke, or call a fire emergency—and left him locked inside for hours until he died from smoke inhalation.
The FBI Augusta Resident Agency is investigating.