Feds say conditions are unconstitutionally bad at Fulton County Jail

ATLANTA, Ga. - Jail officials in Georgia’s most populous county are violating the constitutional rights of people in their custody by failing to protect them from violence, using excessive force and holding them in filthy and unsafe conditions, U.S. Justice Department officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Justice Department alleged conditions at the notorious Fulton County Jail violate the 8th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t adequately protect jail detainees from violence by other detainees, including stabbings, sexual abuse and killings, federal officials contend in a lengthy report that details alleged abuses and offers remedial actions that can be taken. Vulnerable populations, including people who are gay, transgender, young or who have serious mental illness, are particularly at risk from the violence, which causes physical injury and long-lasting trauma, the report says.

“Our investigation finds longstanding, unconstitutional, unlawful and dangerous conditions that jeopardize the lives and well-being of the people held there,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said at a news conference in Atlanta.

The report resulted from a federal investigation launched in July 2023 to examine living conditions, access to medical and mental health care, use of excessive force by staff, and conditions that may give rise to violence between people held in jails in the county, which includes most of Atlanta.

REACTION

Senator’s statement: Ossoff has pushed for action

1. In response to the Department of Justice report, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., released the following statement:
2. “Today’s Justice Department report confirms that abuse at the Fulton County Jail has been not just horrific, but also unconstitutional. Each day these conditions persist is a failure to uphold Georgians’ human and constitutional rights.”
3. Earlier this year, Ossoff, alongside Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Rep. Nikema Williams, urged the department to prioritize its investigation into the Fulton County Jail.

Federal authorities cited the September 2022 death of 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson in a bedbug-infested cell in the Fulton County Jail’s psychiatric wing, noting that an independent autopsy conducted at his family’s request found that he died of severe neglect. Photos released by attorneys for Thompson’s family showed that his body was covered in insects and that his cell was filthy and full of garbage.

Two other people in the same mental health unit died in the weeks following Thompson’s death. Both were killed by their cellmates and found with their feet bound, the report states.

The investigation included the main jail in Atlanta and three annex facilities: the Marietta Annex in Atlanta, the North Annex in Alpharetta, and the South Annex in Union City.

Fulton County now has 49 days to respond to the department’s findings and demonstrate an effort to address the conditions; otherwise, the U.S. Justice Department could file a lawsuit.

However, the incoming Donald Trump White House istration, which will include a new attorney general, could decide not to pursue the matter.

The jail currently houses around 2,000 people and in recent years has sured 3,000 people.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the inhumane, violent and hazardous conditions that people are subjected to inside the Fulton County Jail,” Clarke said. “Detention in the Fulton County Jail has amounted to a death sentence for dozens of people who have been murdered or who’ve died as a result of the atrocious conditions inside the facility.”

Assaults and stabbings with “shanks” are “a feature of life” at the jail, the report states, noting that there were 1,054 assaults and 314 stabbings in 2023. In some cases, officers have allowed or initiated the violence, and many attacks go unreported or are not properly documented.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, who took office in 2021 and was reelected last week, has consistently raised concerns about overcrowding, dilapidated infrastructure and staffing shortages at county lockups. He has pushed county leaders to build a new jail, which they have so far been unwilling to do.

In a t statement, Labat and County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said the county is still reviewing the report and that the jail and county worked closely with the Department of Justice throughout the investigation.

“Everyone at Fulton County shares the goal of ensuring that our Jail is safe and humane, and we agree with the Department of Justice that the issues identified are fixable,” the two said in the t statement. “We believe our planned repairs and other programs will address the needed jail improvements and are committed to continuing to working with the Department of Justice and the community to address the issues identified.”

Although county leaders and the sheriff’s office are aware of the violence and have publicly spoken out against it, “they have failed to take adequate action to address the crisis, and homicides, stabbings, and other violent acts continue at dangerous levels,” according to the report.

People held in Fulton County custody receive inadequate medical and mental health care in violation of their constitutional rights, leaving them open to risk of injury, serious illness, pain and suffering, mental health decline and death, the report states.

People with serious mental illness are routinely held in restrictive housing that exposes them to risk of serious harm, including self-injury, physical decline and acute mental illness, the report says.

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