Senate committee side steps recommending a new Fulton jail
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The Fulton County Sheriff's Office has been refurbishing the 78 zones inside the Rice Street jail. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
A Georgia state Senate subcommittee tasked with studying issues at the Fulton County Jail released its recommendations for improvements but stopped short of suggesting a new facility be constructed.
Why it matters: The 17 recommendations released Friday by the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee on the Fulton County Jail will most likely not move the needle on whether Sheriff Pat Labat's desire for a new facility will become a reality.
The latest: Instead, the report calls on the city of Atlanta to turn over its Detention Center to Fulton County to house Fulton inmates who have court cases pending.
- The district attorney and sheriff's offices should establish a system where the county's finance department serves as advisors in selecting contractors for special projects, the report suggests.
- It also recommends the county DA's office and the public defender's office expedite all cases involving non-violent or non-sexual offenses.
What they're saying: State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula), who chaired the committee, said Friday that "as unique as Atlanta and Fulton County likes to think it is, their county jail has the same issues that every county jail in the state of Georgia has."
- He also said the primary issues are: the "dysfunction" that exists between county agencies, a court system that's "not working at 100%," and cases moving slowly through the district attorney's office.
The other side: County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said several of the committee's recommendations are already underway.
- The county last month adopted a jail renovation plan and passed a resolution requiring all constitutional officers to follow its purchasing policies.
Between the lines: Labat said the findings reiterate his view that his office and the county commission "should not be at odds."
- "In the meantime, we are dealing with a decades-long aging infrastructure and a more violent arrestee," Labat said. "The crumbling facility puts the lives of the residents and our team at risk."
Catch up quick: The long-troubled jail is facing a civil rights investigation from the Department of Justice, which opened its probe following the 2022 death of detainee LaShawn Thompson.
- His family filed a lawsuit after an autopsy determined he died from "severe neglect, and the county approved a $4 million settlement agreement.
Friction point: The subcommittee's recommendation that Atlanta transfers its jail to Fulton County puts pressure on the city to abandon its plans to make it a diversion center, said Michael Collins, senior director of government affairs at Color of Change.
- Despite opposition from community activists, the city in 2022 approved an agreement to allow Fulton County to lease up to 700 beds at the Detention Center.
- A city of Atlanta spokesperson told Axios it's reviewing the recommendations and "we will share with the Senate committee our hope to be included in future conversations around these issues."
Collins also said the District Attorney's Office and Office of Public Offender are already working together to expedite non-violent cases through the system.
- He also took issue with Robertson's characterization of the jail, adding other facilities weren't experiencing deaths like Fulton County when it recorded 10 detainee deaths in 2023.
- "We're here because of jail deaths," he said. "These jail deaths aren't happening in other facilities. There are lawsuits being filed left, right and center against the sheriff."