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Messer, ADA Y
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 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
Ada Y. Messer has served as Deputy Warden at Johnson State Prison continuously since 2018, having previously worked in purchasing and procurement roles for the Georgia Department of Corrections from 2015 through 2017. According to GPS records, 88 deaths have been attributed to Johnson State Prison during Messer’s tenure as Deputy Warden, a figure that includes several homicides, a high volume of natural deaths, and at least two multimillion-dollar settlements paid by the state. Messer is a named defendant in one pending federal lawsuit, Wade v. Morgan, filed in 2023. The period has also been marked by severe understaffing allegations, a documented escape, failing food-safety inspections, and reports from incarcerated people of unsafe conditions.What Happened on Their Watch
Messer became Deputy Warden of Johnson State Prison in 2018. GPS death records show that at least 88 people died at the facility through mid-2026, spanning the full duration of Messer’s deputy warden role. The earliest fatality in the available sample occurred on January 13, 2020, when Leroy Walker Brown, 72, died of natural causes. Multiple homicides were recorded: Jerry L. Brown, 61, died in November 2020 from stab wounds and blunt-force trauma, according to an AJC investigation; the state later paid a $1.45 million settlement to his estate, per the Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger. David Lamar Henegar, 44, was killed by his cellmate in October 2021 after, according to a lawsuit filed by his family and reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, prison staff ignored hours of audible screaming and pleas from other prisoners. GPS records and the AJC note Henegar’s cause of death was manual strangulation and blunt-force trauma to the head; the state settled the family’s claim for $4 million on the eve of a 2026 trial. Other AJC-documented homicides during Messer’s tenure include Michael Page (53, 2023), Donald Prescott Lee (41, 2023, blunt-force trauma to head, neck, and torso), and Kenneth Adam Robinson (50, 2024). Additional deaths attributed to violence appear in GPS records: for instance, notes on Phillip Lamar Byrd’s 2026 death describe an alleged gang assault and forced overdose, though these details come from prisoner reports, not official cause determinations.Beyond individual deaths, systemic failures are documented. In spring 2024, former GDC CERT Commander Tyler Ryals described on his YouTube channel a shift at Johnson where only four staff were present for approximately 1,400 incarcerated people, with no lieutenant on duty and an officer alone in a lockdown building. Ryals stated that an incident report for a taser deployment during that shift was never filed because the acting sergeant “didn’t know how.” A 2023 escape from the facility drew no GDC news release. Food safety was a recurring problem: GPS records show Johnson State Prison failed a food safety inspection in December 2023 with a score of 64 out of 100, documenting rats, roaches, and broken equipment. In April 2026, multiple reports surfaced of contaminated food trays linked to degraded dishwashing infrastructure, with incarcerated people reportedly becoming ill. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Medical Intensive Infirmary was held in July 2023, but the facility’s death toll has continued to rise.
Litigation
- Wade v. Morgan (Case No. 3:23-cv-00073, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, filed August 31, 2023). The case remains pending, and Messer is listed as a defendant. The complaint arises from the death of David Lamar Henegar and alleges, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that officers failed to protect Henegar from a known dangerous cellmate.
Sources
- GPS records — death counts, facility assignments, personnel positions, intel events, and user-submitted incident reports.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (homicide causes and Henegar lawsuit allegations); coverage of the $4 million settlement.
- Tyler C. Ryals (YouTube channel) — whistleblower account of severe understaffing and operational failures at Johnson State Prison in 2024.
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger — payout amounts for Jerry Brown ($1.45M), Betty Wade/Henegar ($4M), and others.
- CourtListener — docket entry for Wade v. Morgan.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → present |
| PURCHASE/PROCUREMENT AGENT 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| PURCH & PROC SPEC (AL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:23-cv-00073 | GASD | 2023-08-31 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
88 people died at facilities under Messer, ADA Y's leadership.
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