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Carr, Willie E
Status: active
Profile written August 9, 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
Willie E. Carr has served in the Georgia Department of Corrections since at least 2007, progressing from correctional officer at Dodge State Prison to sergeant, lieutenant, and unit manager at Johnson State Prison. After a period as a business support analyst, he assumed security leadership as Deputy Warden of Security at Johnson in November 2024 and was listed as Deputy Warden through 2025. During his facility-deputy tenure, GPS records attribute 30 in-custody deaths to Johnson State Prison, spanning December 2024 to June 2026. While Carr held his role, the state finalized a $4 million settlement for the notorious 2021 homicide of David Henegar at the same prison.What happened on their watch
Johnson State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security / Deputy Warden (Nov. 2024–mid‑2026) GPS records show 30 deaths at the facility while Carr served as deputy warden. The deaths included multiple homicides: Kevin Kosturi, 29; Michael Peschel, 36, who per GPS notes suffered 20 stab wounds from a cellmate who should have been housed alone; Phillip Lamar Byrd, 46, whom prisoner reports describe as beaten by gang members, locked in the cold, and then injected with drugs until he overdosed; Paul Russell Brewster, 48; Justin Brandon Hulett, 38; Joseph Lamar Sanders, 54; and Ernest Perez, 61. MarTrese Jamon McKay, 30, died after what initial reports called a suicide but later accounts suggested a sudden collapse. Anthony Shivers, 41, was recorded with a cause category indicating suicide. Most other deaths during Carr’s watch were attributed to natural causes among older prisoners.The Henegar case, though originating in 2021, reached its legal conclusion on Carr’s watch. In April 2026, the state paid $4 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that officers failed to intervene while David Henegar was choked and stomped over five hours by a mentally ill cellmate, despite pleas from neighboring prisoners. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that staff had ignored earlier warnings about the cellmate.
Chronic understaffing and dangerous conditions at Johnson predated Carr’s deputy role and persisted. A whistleblower account from spring 2024—when Carr was still a business support analyst at the prison—described the roughly 1,400-man compound running with only four staff on a Saturday, a taser deployment that went unreported because the sergeant did not know how to file the report, and a prior incident in which a female officer working a lockdown shower alone was stabbed in the neck. In April 2026, during Carr’s tenure, incarcerated people reported becoming ill from contaminated food trays due to degraded dishwashing infrastructure.
Sources
- GPS personnel and death records — positions, death counts, and individual decedent details for Johnson State Prison
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on David Henegar homicide allegations, lawsuit settlement, and staff failures at Johnson State Prison
- Tyler C. Ryals (YouTube channel) — whistleblower account of spring 2024 understaffing and unreported use-of-force at Johnson State Prison
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — $4 million Henegar settlement
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden of Security | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2024-11-01 → 2025-03-31 |
| BUSI SUPPORT ANALYST 1 | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → 2024-10-31 |
| BUSI SUPPORT ANALYST 1 | 2021-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Sergeant | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2014-01-01 → 2014-12-31 |
| Sergeant | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
30 people died at facilities under Carr, Willie E's leadership.
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