Messer, ADA Y

Tenure Summary

ADA Y Messer’s documented GDC career begins in procurement: state salary records list Messer as a Purchasing & Procurement Specialist in 2015 and as a Purchase/Procurement Agent 2 from 2016 through 2017, with no facility attached to any of those postings. Beginning in 2018, the records place Messer in a facility leadership tier — Deputy Warden at Johnson State Prison — a role held continuously through 2025, with annual salary rising from $47,753.94 in 2018 to $70,923.05 in 2025. Messer’s recorded status is active; no other status is documented with a source.

GPS attributes 81 deaths to Messer’s leadership tenure, all of them at Johnson State Prison. Settlements tied to Johnson State Prison during that tenure, per the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (obtained through open records), include $4,000,000 for the Estate of David Lamar Henegar, $1,449,640 for Jerry Brown, $100,000 for Andrick Jackson, $40,000 for Cleveland D Dunn and $1,500 for Antione Caldwell. Messer is also listed as a defendant in one federal lawsuit, described below.

What happened on their watch

Johnson State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2018–2025 (81 deaths attributed).

The deaths recorded at Johnson State Prison during Messer’s Deputy Warden tenure include several ruled homicides. David Lamar Henegar, 44, died October 16, 2021, from manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, per the death record; the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger shows a $4,000,000 state liability payout for his estate. Jerry Lee Brown, 61, died November 12, 2020, from stab wounds to the head and blunt force injury to the face. Michael Page, 53, died June 29, 2023; the manner was ruled a homicide but the cause was not stated and the death certificate had not been received. Donald Prescott Lee, 41, died November 16, 2023, from blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso. Kenneth Adam Robinson, 50, died August 10, 2024; incident report data shows a homicide but the death certificate had not been received.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in April 2026 that Henegar was beaten over roughly five hours by his cellmate, Antone Hinton-Leonard, and that Georgia paid $4 million to end the case on the eve of trial. Per the AJC, Hinton-Leonard was charged with murder and was awaiting trial scheduled to begin later that month. Allegations reported by the AJC and carried by GPS case submissions — attributed to the family’s lawsuit — include that Henegar was housed with a mentally ill cellmate who had previously attacked him; that staff had been told repeatedly about that cellmate’s mental health problems and a prior choking incident a week before the fatal attack; that staff ignored Henegar’s screams and other prisoners’ pleas for help; and that prison officials kept Henegar in custody past his scheduled release date because of an administrative delay.

Other records from the tenure: Johnson State Prison failed a food safety inspection on December 1, 2023, with a score of 64/100 and rats, roaches and broken kitchen equipment documented. In April 2026, a source alleged ongoing unsanitary food service — trays with visible residue and grime, failed dishwashing equipment forcing manual chemical-dunking, and incarcerated people falling ill. An escape occurred at Johnson State Prison on April 5, 2023; GDC issued no news release. A witness claim published on Tyler C. Ryals’ YouTube channel described a spring 2024 shift so short-staffed that a use-of-force incident went unreported, and an incarcerated person there alleged being restrained and tortured. A June 24, 2026 social media report indicated a death at Johnson State Prison, and possibly at Valdosta State Prison, with paramedics responding; the individual’s status and identity were unknown. GDC also held a ribbon-cutting for a new Medical Intensive Infirmary at Johnson State Prison, and announced modular housing including additional beds statewide.

The registry’s 25 most recent recorded deaths during Messer’s leadership tenure:

• Calvin R Norwood died December 30, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 72.
• Marc Charles Neermann died November 2, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 69.
• Roger James died October 29, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 68.
• Aubrie Henley died October 5, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 69.
• Jarvis Dontez Walker died September 26, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 39.
• Matthew Glenn Maynard died September 14, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 65.
• Loy Alpheus Iii Windham died July 31, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 54.
• Larry Sherall Richards died July 29, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 86.
• Russell Scott Carter died July 23, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 42.
• Justin Haley Freeman died July 20, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 44.
• Robert Glenn Tanner died July 15, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 56.
• Joseph Wayne Clayton died July 12, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 32.
• Dewayne Bess died July 10, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 63.
• Robert Joseph Pruett died June 26, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 61.
• John Charles Rhoten died June 15, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 54.
• Paul Russell Brewster died June 9, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 48.
• Robert Barnwell died May 4, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 80.
• Justin Brandon Hulett died February 12, 2025, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 38.
• Calvin Obie Boynton died December 21, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 61.
• Kevin Kosturi died December 13, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 29.
• Jason Dwight Mitchell died December 9, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 45.
• Richard Charles Bishop died December 2, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 91.
• John W Williams died November 8, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 68.
• Lee Stanton Dunlap died October 28, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 60.
• Michael Craig Jesperson died October 20, 2024, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 70.

Litigation

• Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073, filed August 31, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia; status pending, no outcome amount recorded. Messer is listed as a defendant. Per court records, the docket remains open.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on the Henegar death at Johnson State Prison, the $4 million settlement, the murder charge against Antone Hinton-Leonard, and the list of prison homicides
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — liability payouts for Henegar, Jerry Brown, Andrick Jackson, Cleveland D Dunn and Antione Caldwell
• GPS case submissions — witness claims and inmate reports concerning Johnson State Prison, including the 2026 food service allegations and the June 2026 reported death
• Tyler C. Ryals (YouTube channel) — former staff account of an understaffed spring 2024 shift and an unreported use-of-force incident, plus a restraint/torture allegation
• CourtListener docket record for Wade v. Morgan (S.D. Ga.)
• GPS death registry — 81 deaths at Johnson State Prison during Messer’s Deputy Warden tenure

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.