ATLANTA — A civil investigation has been launched by the United States Department of Justice regarding conditions at the Fulton County Jail, according to DOJ officials on Thursday.
The department said the investigation follows credible allegations of deplorable living conditions, rampant violence resulting in "serious injuries and homicides" and the use of excessive force by officers.
“We launched this investigation into the Fulton County Jail based on serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.
The DOJ said its decision came following a look at publicly available information and input from various others. One report included that an incarcerated individual died while covered in insects and filth. The inmate's death has raised significant concerns regarding the treatment of inmates at the facility.
“The recent allegations of filthy housing teeming with insects, rampant violence resulting in death and injuries, and officers using excessive force are cause for grave concern and warrant a thorough investigation," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan with the Northern District of Georgia. "This investigation is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that citizens are safe and their constitutional rights protected, even while they are in custody.”
The report does not name the individual, but the story is similar to one 11Alive brought to viewers earlier this year. Lashawn Thompson, a Fulton County Jail inmate, was found dead and covered in bedbugs and died from an irregular heartbeat caused by dehydration, rapid weight loss and untreated schizophrenia.
Thompson's conditions were described in a private autopsy, which was released to his family. Thompson was found dead in the jail in September.
“The unconstitutional conditions that we see too often inside jails and prisons have no place in society today,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.
In May, Attorney Ben Crump joined the case, calling for justice. He called it "criminal negligence," saying that Brittney Griner had better conditions inside her Russian prison cell than Thompson did inside the Fulton County Jail.
There are also allegations, according to the justice department, that the jail poses structural risks and that individuals with psychiatric disabilities face discrimination.
Officials added that this investigation is to address several key areas, including living conditions, medical and mental health care, use of excessive force and protection from violence. The DOJ said it will also examine whether there is any discrimination against individuals with psychiatric disabilities within the jail.
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office and Fulton County Government released a joint statement about the DOJ's investigation:
"Fulton County and the Sheriff’s Office have been made aware of a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice to examine conditions at the Fulton County Jail and will be cooperating fully with the investigation."
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat released an additional statement Thursday night saying he met with DOJ officials and the jail is fully prepared to cooperate with its investigation.
"The humanitarian crisis at the Fulton County Rice Street Jail is not new. Recognizing the systemic concerns that have plagued the Fulton County Jail for decades, I contacted DOJ’s National Institute of Corrections (NIC) in September of 2022 making an urgent request for a security audit, technical assistance and support surrounding the circumstances at the jail," Labat wrote in the statement in part.
He added as recently as 10 days ago, he met with the NIC's leadership team to discuss a course of action. Labat said the NIC is working with the jail to address critical issues within the next 30 days.
"I have publicly, privately, and repeatedly raised concerns about the dangerous overcrowding, dilapidated infrastructure and critical staffing shortages at the jail, Labat wrote. "The best possible outcome of the report from the Department of Justice is that it will confirm the findings of the Jail Feasibility Study completed in March of 2023 – that the Rice Street Jail is not viable and a replacement jail is needed."
Additionally, Labat said solutions will be identified and implemented with the support of the Board of Commissioners.
"Despite the difficult circumstances, we will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to ensure the health and safety of all the women and men remanded to our care," he wrote.
Devin Franklin, an attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta-- which, over the years has taken a lead in pushing for reforms at the jail--said Thursday the SCHR welcomes the DOJ investigation, independent of Fulton County.
“I’m extremely encouraged," Franklin said. “The jail overcrowding is not an issue of the rising crime in Atlanta. It is an indication that the court systems are moving too slowly, that the DAs are indicting cases too slowly, and that people are being held under bond conditions that only punished them for being poor.”
The Fulton County Commission is working on cost estimates. The latest numbers, discussed at the commission's work session on Wednesday:
- It would cost $2.45 billion to renovate and expand the current jail.
- And it would cost far less, $2 billion, to build a brand new jail.
Franklin said it shouldn’t have to cost anywhere near those estimates to fix the underlying problems with the criminal justice system that he believes are the causes of so many of the jail’s problems.
“All that it’s going to take is having a good heart and using some good sense," he added.
The DOJ said its investigators are ready to expose any systemic violations of federal law in Fulton County’s management of the jail-- and then fix them, along with the jail.