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Beland, Ryan
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 2026
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Ryan Beland’s documented Georgia Department of Corrections career begins with facility-level staff roles: correctional officer at Charles D. Hudson Transitional Center in 2011, counselor there in 2013, and behavioral-health counselor positions through 2020. He moved into custody administration as a correctional assistant superintendent by 2021, then into facility-leadership posts. GPS records attribute 13 deaths to Beland’s facility-leadership tenures: 9 at Rutledge State Prison, 3 at Helms Facility, and 1 at Johnson State Prison. The position ledger includes overlapping Helms and Rutledge assignments during 2024; the death files assign the January–September 2024 Rutledge deaths to Beland as correctional superintendent. GPS records list no lawsuits naming Beland as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Helms Facility (2022–2024)
Beland appears as a correctional assistant superintendent at Helms in 2022 and as superintendent beginning July 1, 2022. Three deaths are attributed to his superintendent tenure there, all in 2023. Frank Eugene Huffman, 66, died April 23; DeKalb County Medical Examiner case 23-0770 lists manner as natural, with cause cardiac; cirrhosis, liver cell carcinoma, COPD, and coronary artery disease. Robert Lee Hines, 63, died May 17; the GPS file provides no stated cause. James Michael Stafford, 59, died July 20; DeKalb County ME case 23-1277 lists manner as natural, with cause GI bleed; hepatitis, liver cancer. No lawsuits or staff-misconduct allegations tied to the Helms deaths appear in the provided record.Rutledge State Prison (2024–2026)
GPS records place Beland at Rutledge as correctional superintendent beginning January 1, 2024, and later as warden; nine deaths are attributed to this leadership period. In 2024, the attributed deaths were Leroy House, 68, January 3; Anthony Antonio Hand, 52, January 28; Venteris Leon Hobson, 58, July 7; and Tony Jeromy Reddish, 45, September 28. The AJC’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, cited in GPS records, identifies Hobson’s death as an inmate-to-inmate assault homicide based on GDC incident-report data. GPS records provide no stated cause for House, Hand, or Reddish. In 2025, the deaths were William Edward Houston, 75, April 10; Alan Thomas Bryant, 46, June 1; and Brandon Keith Bolden, 37, June 15. GPS notes list “Natural causes” for Bryant; a GPS prisoner-report entry spells the claimed cause for Bolden as “Homocide” [sic]. In 2026, Jonathan Lloyd Myers, 38, died May 3, and Alterek Mance Dockery, 49, died June 14; neither death has a stated cause in the GPS file.During Beland’s Rutledge tenure, the record also shows several facility-related incidents and allegations. A January 2025 lawsuit by Curtis Mincey’s sister alleged he suffered from mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance before his 2021 Rutledge death; that death itself predates Beland’s Rutledge assignment, and the lawsuit does not name Beland in the provided record. AJC reporting on Operation Skyhawk included an allegation that Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall admitted providing prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food for money at Rutledge. GPS incident entries describe an alleged April 6, 2025 CERT-team assault at Charles D. Hudson Transitional Center involving a Rutledge CERT team under Lt. Lonesca Carlton. The Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger records a $20,000 state liability payout tied to a 2024 Rutledge incident involving Amber Brejae Walker. A March 2026 federal ruling in Buttrum v. Herring, tied to Rutledge State Prison, denied a motion to dismiss a challenge to Georgia’s juvenile-lifer parole process.
Johnson State Prison (June 2026–present)
Beland became warden at Johnson State Prison on June 16, 2026. One death is attributed to his tenure: Ernest Perez, 61, died June 23, 2026. GPS records state that the fact of death was confirmed on the GDC June 2026 monthly mortality report, which carries no cause of death. GPS notes an initial date discrepancy — its own source had June 24 — and adopted June 23 from the GDC report. No lawsuits or staff-misconduct allegations in the provided files are tied to Beland’s Johnson tenure. Earlier Johnson State Prison events in the file, including a 2023 failing food-safety inspection, a 2024 whistleblower account of severe understaffing, and the David Henegar homicide litigation, predate Beland’s arrival and are not included in the death count attributed to him.Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; Operation Skyhawk contraband reporting; Johnson State Prison death-case reporting
- DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office — case files 23-1277 and 23-0770 for Helms Facility deaths
- GDC June 2026 Monthly Mortality Report — confirmation of Ernest Perez’s death
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger — Rutledge State Prison 2024 payout
- GPS records — personnel positions, death-attribution counts, prisoner reports, incident reports, and facility intel entries
- Tyler C. Ryals YouTube channel — whistleblower account of Johnson State Prison understaffing (predates Beland’s Johnson tenure)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden 1 | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| Warden | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2026-06-16 → present |
| Warden | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2025-04-01 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Special Assistant to the Warden | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2024-10-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-09-30 |
| Correctional Superintendent | HELMS FACILITY | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| Superintendent | HELMS FACILITY | 2022-07-01 → 2024-09-30 |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | HELMS FACILITY | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | ATLANTA TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2018-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Counselor | CHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | CHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
13 people died at facilities under Beland, Ryan's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-23 | Ernest Perez | 61 | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2026-06-14 | ALTEREK MANCE DOCKERY | 49 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2026-05-03 | JONATHAN LLOYD MYERS | 38 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2025-06-15 | BRANDON KEITH BOLDEN | 37 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2025-06-01 | ALAN THOMAS BRYANT | 46 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2025-04-10 | WILLIAM EDWARD HOUSTON | 75 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2024-09-28 | TONY JEROMY REDDISH | 45 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT |
| 2024-07-07 | VENTERIS LEON HOBSON | 58 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT |
| 2024-01-28 | ANTHONY ANTONIO HAND | 52 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT |
| 2024-01-03 | LEROY HOUSE | 68 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT |
| 2023-07-20 | JAMES MICHAEL STAFFORD | 59 | HELMS FACILITY | Superintendent |
| 2023-05-17 | ROBERT LEE HINES | 63 | HELMS FACILITY | Superintendent |
| 2023-04-23 | FRANK EUGENE HUFFMAN | 66 | HELMS FACILITY | Superintendent |
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