Thomas Henry Giles
Thomas Henry Giles grew up in Atlanta's Pittsburgh neighborhood, where, according to his attorney, he saw his mother shot to death when he was a child and was left homeless after his father died. He died in his cell at Augusta State Medical Prison on October 28, 2020, after a fire broke out there. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner listed the cause as carbon monoxide poisoning and the manner as homicide, and officials said he started the fire with his mattress. Reports say staff saw the fire start but did not remove him from his locked cell for more than three hours. A 2020 state investigation included another prisoner's account that a fellow prisoner blocked his door so he could not get fresh air, an.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The GBI medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, and the family's lawsuit says staff saw the fire but left him locked in his cell for more than three hours, while a GDC investigation said he set his mattress on fire.
Reported by: GBI medical examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Georgia Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); his family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family sued and the state agreed to pay $5 million to settle the lawsuit over his death at Augusta State Medical Prison.