Fulton sheriff will stop booking some misdemeanor cases
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Beginning July 1, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office will not accept bookings for people charged with certain misdemeanors. Photo: Courtesy of Alyssa Pointer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Criminal justice reform advocates are applauding Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat's move to limit the number of people booked into the Rice Street Jail.
Why it matters: The agency has been in a long-running fight to address crowding and crumbling infrastructure at Rice Street.
- The jail has been plagued with violent assaults, deaths and deteriorating conditions that prompted a federal investigation and a subsequent consent decree.
The latest: Starting Wednesday, July 1, the agency will no longer accept people charged with misdemeanors unless those cases involve sexual assault, domestic violence and "aggravated misdemeanor circumstances" (when someone is classified as a repeat offender of certain crimes).
What they're saying: Devin Barrington-Ward, founder of Black Futurist Group, an organization that advocates for social justice reforms, said he and other activists have for years "warned that flooding the jail with people accused of low-level offenses was making the overcrowded situation worse."
Driving the news: Barrington-Ward and several other representatives of community organizations spoke in support of Labat's decision at a press conference Thursday.
- Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, who introduced (and the commission approved) a resolution calling on the sheriff to prioritize space for serious offenders, said the change will be good for the county and city "if we follow through on what we all want here."
Caveat: Pitts said his resolution wanted the change to take effect before the 2026 World Cup Games, and he plans to meet with Labat to discuss timing.
- "My hope [is] that if it's successful — and I have every reason to believe that it will be successful — I would like to see it become a permanent policy within Fulton County," he said.
The big picture: Devin Franklin, senior movement policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights, said while misdemeanors are not serious crimes, people who are arrested and can't afford to post bond often face serious consequences like losing their jobs or homes.
Context: This latest change also comes weeks after a former detainee, Rashaad Muhammad, told commissioners the medical care he received while incarcerated at Rice Street led to him losing his feet and fingers.
By the numbers: Fulton County's total jail population was 2,849 as of Thursday.
- Rice Street, which has a capacity of 1,900, was bumping up against that figure with 1,867 detainees.
What's next: The sheriff's office will spend the next month educating law enforcement agencies, the public and local governments about the change.