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Beland, Ryan

Status: active

Profile written July 12, 2026

Current Position Warden Johnson State Prison
Salary $88,313 2025 · state payroll
Deaths Under Their Watch 12 during their tenure

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 moved through the ranks of the Georgia Department of Corrections from correctional officer and counselor to facility leadership. GPS records attribute a total of 12 deaths to facilities during his leadership tenures: three as Correctional Assistant Superintendent at Helms Facility in 2022, eight across his roles as Correctional Superintendent and Warden at Rutledge State Prison between 2024 and 2026, and one as Warden at Johnson State Prison in June 2026. While no lawsuits name Beland directly as a defendant, his watch at Rutledge saw a state liability settlement of $20,000 for a 2024 incident, and he assumed command at Johnson State Prison shortly after that facility was embroiled in a $4 million settlement over a high‑profile inmate homicide that sparked allegations of staff neglect.

What happened on their watch

Helms Facility (2022, Correctional Assistant Superintendent)

Beland held a facility‑deputy role at Helms Facility during 2022, a year in which three deaths were recorded. Mitchell LeBron Dunn, 60, died on January 26 from lung cancer (natural), according to a DeKalb County Medical Examiner case record. Kenneth Clyde, 65, died on February 25, and Walton Jerome Thomas, 56, died on June 26; both deaths are categorized as category 6 (other) in GDC data. No additional circumstances or lawsuits tied specifically to this tenure appear in the provided records.

Rutledge State Prison (2024–2026, Correctional Superintendent and Warden)

Beland served as Correctional Superintendent from January to September 2024, briefly as Special Assistant to the Warden, and then as Warden from January 2025 until June 2026. During this combined period, eight deaths are attributed to the facility. As superintendent in 2024: Leroy House (68, Jan. 3), Anthony Antonio Hand (52, Jan. 28), Venteris Leon Hobson (58, July 7 – an inmate‑on‑inmate homicide, per an Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation), and Tony Jeromy Reddish (45, Sept. 28). As warden: William Edward Houston (75, April 10, 2025), Alan Thomas Bryant (46, June 1, 2025 – natural causes), Brandon Keith Bolden (37, June 15, 2025 – listed as a homicide in GPS records), and Jonathan Lloyd Myers (38, May 3, 2026). A $20,000 state settlement, documented in the GA DOAS Risk Management ledger, was paid in June 2024 for an incident involving Amber Brejae Walker at Rutledge that year. During Beland’s warden tenure, a 2025 lawsuit (filed before his arrival) by the sister of Curtis Mincey—who died at Rutledge in 2021—alleged that Mincey had mental illness and did not receive appropriate care, per intel reports. Separately, a 2021 arrest of a sergeant for smuggling contraband at the facility predates Beland’s appointment.

Johnson State Prison (2026–present, Warden)

Beland became Warden at Johnson State Prison on June 16, 2026. On June 24, Ernest Perez died at the facility. The GPS death record classifies the death as a homicide (cause category 3) and notes an auto‑promoted user report. Beland’s arrival followed a $4 million settlement in April 2026 for the 2021 killing of David Henegar by a cellmate, along with multiple lawsuits alleging that officers ignored pleas for help. Reports of contaminated food trays and a failing food‑safety inspection at Johnson in 2023 are also documented, though both incidents predate his tenure.

Litigation

GPS records do not list any lawsuits in which Beland, Ryan is named as a defendant.

Sources

  • GPS records – personnel history, death counts, death details, and settlement amounts.
  • Atlanta Journal-Constitution – homicide investigations, including Hobson at Rutledge and the Henegar case at Johnson.
  • GA Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) – settlement payouts for Rutledge, Johnson, and other facilities.
  • DeKalb County Medical Examiner case records – manner and cause for Mitchell Dunn.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Jul 12, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.

Positions Held

TitleFacilityTenure
WardenJOHNSON STATE PRISON2026-06-16 → present
WardenRUTLEDGE STATE PRISON2025-04-01 → present
WARDEN 1RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON2025-01-01 → present
Special Assistant to the WardenRUTLEDGE STATE PRISON2024-10-01 → present
CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENTRUTLEDGE STATE PRISON2024-01-01 → 2024-09-30
CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31
CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPTHELMS FACILITY2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31
CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31
BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3ATLANTA TRANSITIONAL CENTER2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31
BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 32018-01-01 → 2019-12-31
BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2METRO REENTRY FACILITY2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31
BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 22016-01-01 → 2016-12-31
BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL)2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31
CounselorCHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31
Correctional OfficerCHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31

Deaths attributed during tenure

12 people died at facilities under Beland, Ryan's leadership.

DateDecedentAgeFacilityRole at time
2026-06-24Ernest PerezJOHNSON STATE PRISONWarden
2026-05-03JONATHAN LLOYD MYERS38RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONWarden
2025-06-15BRANDON KEITH BOLDEN37RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONWarden
2025-06-01ALAN THOMAS BRYANT46RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONWarden
2025-04-10WILLIAM EDWARD HOUSTON75RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONWarden
2024-09-28TONY JEROMY REDDISH45RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONCORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT
2024-07-07VENTERIS LEON HOBSON58RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONCORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT
2024-01-28ANTHONY ANTONIO HAND52RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONCORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT
2024-01-03LEROY HOUSE68RUTLEDGE STATE PRISONCORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT
2022-06-26WALTON JEROME THOMAS56HELMS FACILITYCORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT
2022-02-25KENNETH CLYDE65HELMS FACILITYCORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT
2022-01-26MITCHELL LEBRON DUNN60HELMS FACILITYCORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT

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