The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy. Per protocol, Phillips’ death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the investigation is ongoing.
Phillips was serving a 577-month sentence for convictions of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and criminal threat in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Lansing Correctional Facility, formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary, opened in 1867 and houses males across maximum, medium, and minimum security units.