The Ministry of Justice 105 page report Thursday outlined the inhumane conditions at Georgia's Fulton County Jail.
The Department of Justice has found that the jail operated by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Last year, 1,054 assaults and 314 stabbings were reported at the prison, along with instances of sexual assault and “unsanitary conditions.”
Police launched an investigation after 35-year-old Rashaun Thompson was found dead in a cell infested with bed bugs.
“Rashawn Thompson's horrific death was symptomatic of a pattern of dangerous and inhumane conditions at the Fulton County Jail,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. statement.
After Thompson's death in 2022, 10 more Black men in Fulton County facilities were declared dead, and four were diagnosed with severe mental health needs. Officials also said the guards have a history of keeping 17-year-old males in isolation for long periods of time as punishment, leading to a significant increase in suicide attempts.
In 2023, President-elect Trump was arrested, arrested and quickly released from a facility after taking a viral mug shot for a felony charge.
Jeffrey Lamar Williams Jr., the famous rapper popularly known as “Young Thug,” has been held in the Fulton County Jail throughout the high-profile case. He has frequently complained of intolerable conditions and signed a plea deal last month guaranteeing his immediate release so that he could receive medical attention to address “health concerns” arising from the prison environment. atlanta journal constitution.
In its report, the Department of Justice cited a study by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care that warned against this treatment. memo Describe areas for improvement in prisons.
The letter shared that if the Department of Justice does not reach a resolution regarding its findings within 49 days, the Attorney General has the authority to file a lawsuit. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labatt will be in charge of implementing the new changes. He was originally elected to the post in 2021 and was re-elected last week.
Rabat had previously raised concerns about overcrowding, aging infrastructure and understaffing in the county's lockups.
“After all, people don't give up their civil and constitutional rights at the prison door. Jails and prisons across the country do not allow people to escape from grave violations and unconstitutional conditions like the ones revealed here. must be protected,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a report Thursday.
“We hope that our findings will serve as a wake-up call and encourage Fulton County officials to work with the Department of Justice to implement the necessary reforms to ensure constitutional conditions going forward.” she added.
