Messer, ADA Y

Tenure Summary

ADA Y. Messer first appears in Georgia Department of Corrections records in 2015 as a Purchasing & Procurement Specialist (AL) earning $34,261.92, then as Purchase/Procurement Agent 2 through 2016 and 2017. In 2018 Messer moved into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Johnson State Prison, a position the records show held from 2018 through 2025, with salary rising from $47,753.94 in 2018 to $70,923.05 in 2025. Records for events dated into 2026 likewise list Messer in the Deputy Warden role at Johnson.

GPS attributes 88 deaths to Messer's leadership tenures — all 88 at Johnson State Prison, per `deaths_by_facility`. That span includes a $4,000,000 state liability payout tied to Johnson (incident 2021) recorded in the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger, a $1,449,640 payout tied to a 2020 incident, and a lawsuit in which Messer is named as a defendant. Messer's status is listed as active.

What happened on their watch

Deputy Warden, Johnson State Prison (2018–2025; the records also list Messer as Deputy Warden at Johnson for events dated in 2026). Across this posting, records attribute 88 deaths to the facility, and the registry names the following decedents:

• Ernest Perez died June 23, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 61.
• Martrese Jamon Mckay died April 18, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 30.
• Dale Way died March 28, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 76.
• Michael Elias Peschel died March 14, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 36.
• Anthony Shivers died February 11, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 41.
• Joseph Lamar Sanders died January 27, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 54.
• Phillip Lamar Byrd died January 18, 2026, at Johnson State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 46.
• 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.

Earlier deaths recorded in the same posting include Kenneth Adam Robinson, 50, on August 10, 2024 (incident report data show a homicide; the death certificate had not been received); Donald Prescott Lee, 41, on November 16, 2023, from blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso; Michael Page, 53, on June 29, 2023, ruled a homicide with cause not stated; Jerry Lee Brown, 61, on November 12, 2020, from stab wounds to the head and blunt force injury to the face; and David Lamar Henegar, 44, on October 16, 2021, from manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head.

Records for the tenure also document an escape at Johnson State Prison on April 5, 2023, for which GDC issued no news release; a food safety inspection failure scored 64/100 on December 1, 2023, with rats, roaches and broken kitchen equipment documented; a source allegation dated April 10, 2026 that contaminated food trays and grime in tray seams were causing illness among incarcerated people despite unsuccessful internal efforts; and GDC ribbon-cuttings for a Medical Intensive Infirmary at Johnson on July 21, 2023 and July 21, 2026.

The Henegar death is the subject of a body of allegations reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Per the AJC, Antone Hinton-Leonard allegedly hogtied, beat and choked Henegar over five hours, causing fatal injuries; a lawsuit alleges Henegar, who had a disability, was housed with a mentally ill cellmate who had previously attacked him, that staff failed to act on repeated prisoner reports about the cellmate's mental health and a prior choking incident, and that officers ignored Henegar's screams and other prisoners' pleas for help. Hinton-Leonard was charged with murder and was awaiting trial, per the AJC. The settlement ledger records a $4,000,000 payout for Betty Wade, for the Estate of David Lamar Henegar, tied to Johnson State Prison (incident 2021).

Other settlements in the ledger tied to Johnson during this posting: $1,449,640 (Jerry Brown, incident 2020), $100,000 (Andrick Jackson, 2023), $40,000 (Cleveland D Dunn, 2018), and $1,500 (Antione Caldwell, 2020).

Messer's pre-leadership roles in purchasing and procurement (2015–2017) carried no facility assignment in the records.

Litigation

• Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073, filed August 31, 2023; court listed as GASD; status pending as of the record. Messer is listed among the defendants.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Henegar homicide coverage and the "GA prison homicides" list; reports of the $4M settlement on the eve of trial
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — liability payouts tied to Johnson State Prison, 2018–2023
• Court records (CourtListener docket) — Wade v. Morgan, 3:23-cv-00073
• GPS case submissions — food service allegation at Johnson State Prison, April 10, 2026
• GDC announcements — Medical Intensive Infirmary ribbon-cuttings and modular housing program at Johnson State Prison

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 25, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.