Beland, Ryan

Tenure Summary

Ryan Beland entered GDC in 2011 as a correctional officer at Charles D. Hudson Transitional Center and spent most of the following decade in counseling and behavioral-health posts — counselor at Hudson in 2013, behavioral-health counselor roles from 2015 through 2020, with assignments listed at Metro Reentry Facility in 2017 and Atlanta Transitional Center in 2020. He moved into facility leadership as a Correctional Assistant Superintendent in 2021, with a 2022 assignment at Helms Facility, and became Superintendent at Helms Facility on July 1, 2022.

Fourteen deaths are attributed to facilities during Beland's leadership tenures: nine at Rutledge State Prison, three at Helms Facility and two at Johnson State Prison. He held the Correctional Superintendent post at Rutledge from a November 2023 entry through September 30, 2024, then served there as Special Assistant to the Warden from October 2024, Warden 1 from January 2025 and Warden from April 1, 2025 until June 15, 2026, before taking the Warden role at Johnson State Prison on June 16, 2026. Litigation records list no suit naming Beland as a defendant; a $20,000 state liability payout tied to Rutledge was recorded while he was superintendent there.

What happened on their watch

Helms Facility — Superintendent, July 1, 2022 – September 30, 2024

Three deaths occurred at Helms during this tenure, all recorded in the GPS death registry as Natural/Medical: Frank Eugene Huffman died April 23, 2023, at Helms Facility (age 66); Robert Lee Hines died May 17, 2023, at Helms Facility (age 63); James Michael Stafford died July 20, 2023, at Helms Facility (age 59).

Rutledge State Prison — Correctional Superintendent (through September 30, 2024), Special Assistant to the Warden (from October 2024), Warden 1 (January–March 2025), Warden (April 1, 2025 – June 15, 2026)

Nine deaths are attributed to Rutledge during Beland's tenure there:

• Leroy House died January 3, 2024, at Rutledge State Prison (age 68); the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Anthony Antonio Hand died January 28, 2024, at Rutledge State Prison (age 52); Unknown/Pending.
• Venteris Leon Hobson died July 7, 2024, at Rutledge State Prison (age 58); Homicide. The event record states a coroner told a TV station he was found dead in his cell after a fight with his cellmate.
• Tony Jeromy Reddish died September 28, 2024, at Rutledge State Prison (age 45); Unknown/Pending.
• William Edward Houston died April 10, 2025, at Rutledge State Prison (age 75); Unknown/Pending.
• Alan Thomas Bryant died June 1, 2025, at Rutledge State Prison (age 46); Natural/Medical.
• Brandon Keith Bolden died June 15, 2025, at Rutledge State Prison (age 37); Homicide.
• Jonathan Lloyd Myers died May 3, 2026, at Rutledge State Prison (age 38); Unknown/Pending.
• Alterek Mance Dockery died June 14, 2026, at Rutledge State Prison (age 49); Unknown/Pending.

On June 19, 2024, the Georgia Department of Administrative Services risk-management settlement ledger (obtained through open records) records a $20,000 liability payout tied to Rutledge State Prison and an incident in 2024, involving Amber Brejae Walker, at a time when Beland held the Correctional Superintendent role there. In January 2025, with Beland listed as Warden 1, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a lawsuit in which Curtis Mincey's sister alleged he suffered from a mental illness but did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance; the same outlet reported an allegation that Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall admitted providing prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco and food in exchange for money on at least six occasions.

Johnson State Prison — Warden from June 16, 2026

Two deaths are attributed to Johnson during this tenure: Ernest Perez died June 23, 2026, at Johnson State Prison (age 61); the registry lists the cause as Homicide. Walter Louis Thompson died September 10, 2026, at Johnson State Prison (age 65); the cause is Unknown/Pending — GPS does not yet know it.

A June 24, 2026 social-media submission logged to GPS indicated a death at Johnson State Prison, and possibly at Valdosta State Prison, with paramedics responding to remove an individual; the person's status and identity were unknown. A July 20, 2026 witness account published on Tyler C. Ryals's YouTube channel described a spring 2024 shift at Johnson as dangerously understaffed, with a use-of-force incident that went unreported and an incarcerated person alleging he was restrained and tortured. On July 21, 2026, GDC held a ribbon-cutting for a new 20-bed Medical Intensive Infirmary at Johnson State Prison, part of a 524-bed modular housing program spanning several state prisons.

Sources

• Georgia Prisoners' Speak death registry — dates, facilities, ages and cause categories for the 14 deaths listed above.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on the Curtis Mincey lawsuit allegations and the contraband allegations involving Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall at Rutledge State Prison.
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — $20,000 Rutledge State Prison payout recorded June 19, 2024.
• Tyler C. Ryals (YouTube) — July 20, 2026 witness account concerning Johnson State Prison.
• GPS case submission record — June 24, 2026 social-media report of a death at Johnson State Prison.
• GDC announcement records — Medical Intensive Infirmary ribbon-cutting and 524-bed modular housing program, July 21, 2026.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.