Carr, Willie E

Tenure Summary

Willie E. Carr first appears in GPS records as a correctional officer at Dodge State Prison in 2007, then as a sergeant there in 2013. From 2014 through 2020, he held positions at Johnson State Prison: sergeant, corrections officer, correctional lieutenant, and correctional unit manager. GPS records then show him as a business support analyst with no facility listed from 2021 through 2023, and assigned to Johnson State Prison again from January through October 2024. In November 2024, Carr became Deputy Warden of Security at Johnson State Prison. Records also list him as DEPUTY WARDEN for calendar-year 2025 and include a subsequent Deputy Warden entry dated August 27, 2026.

GPS records attribute 30 deaths to Carr’s facility-deputy tenure, all recorded at Johnson State Prison. The provided lawsuit index does not name Carr as a defendant.

What happened on their watch

For Carr’s earlier Dodge State Prison postings and his Johnson State Prison staff and unit-supervisor postings, GPS records do not attribute any deaths to those roles. A whistleblower account posted by former GDC CERT Commander Tyler C. Ryals describes a spring 2024 Johnson State Prison incident in which the compound reportedly ran with only four staff total, an unreported taser use of force, and a prior stabbing of a female officer running showers alone. GPS records place that account before Carr’s deputy posting, at a time when he was listed as a business support analyst at Johnson.

The 30 deaths attributed to Carr’s facility-deputy tenure span from November 8, 2024, when John W. Williams died at age 68, through June 23, 2026, when Ernest Perez died at age 61, in the records supplied. Many of the death records are sparse: a substantial share are coded `cause_category` 6 and carry no narrative notes, leaving the cause unstated. GPS does record specific and contested accounts for several other deaths:

• Michael Elias Peschel, 36, on March 14, 2026: a GPS user report states he suffered 20 stab wounds from a cellmate who should have been housed alone. This is attributed to a user/family account, not an official finding.
• Martrese Jamon McKay, 30, on April 18, 2026: an initial report of suicide was contradicted by a subsequent Telegram relay describing a sudden collapse; the record says the cause remains unclear and under investigation.
• Phillip Lamar Byrd, 46, on January 18, 2026: Telegram reports allege he was beaten, left outside in the cold, and injected with drugs until he overdosed; this is not an official finding.
• Ernest Perez, 61, on June 23, 2026: GDC’s June 2026 monthly mortality report confirms the fact of death but carries no cause. GPS notes its source date of June 24 remains on the record as a date discrepancy.

GPS also recorded multiple incident reports on April 10, 2026, of contaminated food trays causing illness at Johnson State Prison, attributed by submitters to degraded dishwashing infrastructure. Those reports come from GPS case submissions, not an official inspection finding.

Litigation

No lawsuit in the provided records names Carr as a defendant. Related Johnson State Prison litigation and payouts documented in GPS records include:

• David Lamar Henegar, 44, died October 16, 2021, at Johnson State Prison. A lawsuit filed by Betty Wade and David Jacob Henegar against three corrections officers and a prison manager alleged staff failed to protect Henegar from his cellmate during a five-hour beating. The Henegar death predates Carr’s facility-deputy posting and is not counted among the 30 attributed deaths. GPS records show a $4,000,000 state settlement tied to the 2021 incident in the GA DOAS settlement ledger. Court name not stated in the provided records.
• Jerry Brown, 61, died November 12, 2020, at Johnson State Prison; the GA DOAS ledger records a $1,449,640 payout tied to that 2020 incident. Court not stated.
• Andrick Jackson: a $100,000 state liability payout tied to a 2023 Johnson State Prison incident appears in the GA DOAS ledger. Court not stated.
• Ucollos Owens: a $400,000 payout tied to a 2015 Johnson State Prison incident appears in the GA DOAS ledger. Court not stated.

Sources

• GPS personnel, deaths, intel, and case-submission records
• Georgia Department of Corrections June 2026 monthly mortality report, via GPS
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — multiple reports on Georgia prison homicides and the Henegar settlement
• Tyler C. Ryals YouTube channel
• 13WMAZ — Johnson State Prison death investigation reference
• Obituary references compiled in GPS research (Smalls Funeral Home; Low Country Cremation)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.