ATLANTA — (Editor's note: The video above this article is from a separate story on Fulton County Jail conditions.)
A former inmate at the Fulton County Jail is suing the sheriff's office after being stabbed 13 times last year, according to the recent lawsuit.
The suit alleges that "physical conditions of the jail allow inmates the ability to easily create and store weapons" and that the jail was "understaffed" at the time of the attack.
11Alive has reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for a response.
The lawsuit also argues that "broken or unlocked cell doors greatly contributed to a crisis in security," along with indifference from staff in responding to security hazards "even as the level of violence escalated, and numerous inmates and officers were victimized."
The jail's conditions have been criticized as more than two dozen inmates have died either in custody or following medical emergencies at the jail since 2022. The Department of Justice opened a civil investigation into the facility in July 2023.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat highlighted the deteriorating conditions at the jail after another inmate was stabbed with a piece of metal fashioned into a knife.
"The Fulton County Jail is in crisis and has been in crisis for decades," Labat said. "The conditions have far outlived its life cycle."
In May of last year, 11Alive obtained reports showing the jail continuing to struggle with violence.
One report showed jail officials found an inmate drenched in blood. According to the report, the inmate said a fight broke out, and someone stabbed him with a metal shank.
Reports also showed several armed inmates stabbed another one. Another incident report stated a jailer requested medical attention after being exposed to a foreign substance. Former Fulton County deputy Charles Rambo, a 30-year veteran at the sheriff's office and former jailer, said incidents like these affect morale among inmates and staff.
Labat has previously expressed concerns about ongoing problems plaguing the jail, like overcrowding, which he said can lead to infestations and the spread of illness among inmates.
However, he claimed that for him to make the necessary changes, he needed to hire better jail staff, replace the health vendor, and receive more funding from the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. The sheriff and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners have been at odds over who is responsible for the deteriorated conditions at the jail and what would best fix them.
“I’ve said this to the board of commissioners; they've taken tours [of the facility],” Labat said. “I’ve said this specifically to the chairman."
To combat overcrowding, the jail has been moving inmates to other facilities in Cobb, Forsyth, and Oconee counties. At its most crowded, Labat said over 500 inmates have occupied floor space, needing to sleep temporarily on mattresses.