The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced a court-enforceable agreement to address unconstitutional conditions at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia.
The Department found that the jail violated the 8th and 14th Amendments, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A complaint and proposed consent decree were filed in federal court against Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff.
The proposed consent decree alleges that that the Jail engages in a pattern or practice of violating the rights of people incarcerated there.
Under the proposed consent decree, the Jail will, among other things:
- Develop plans and policies to keep incarcerated people safe from violence;
- Improve supervision and staffing;
- Keep doors and locks in working order;
- Require any use of force by staff comply with constitutional standards;
- Take steps to protect incarcerated people at risk of suicide and to afford incarcerated people adequate medical and mental health care;
- Develop and implement a comprehensive housekeeping plan and pest management system to keep the Jail clean, sanitary, and free of pests;
- Stop housing vulnerable people in isolation when they are at substantial risk of self-harm or other negative mental health outcomes absent specific and significant protections; and
- Facilitate the provision of adequate special education services to children with disabilities in the Jail.
The proposed consent decree provides for an independent monitor to assess the Jail’s implementation of the decree’s requirements. The monitor will issue public reports on the Jail’s progress every six months and members of the public can share information with the monitor regarding implementation of the decree and Jail conditions.
(WSB TV News Report – 2023)
“This proposed consent decree is a critical step toward correcting the dangerous and dehumanizing conditions that have persisted in the Fulton County Jail for far too long,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “When the Department announced findings from our investigation of the Fulton County Jail in November, we called on the County and Sheriff’s Office to remedy the troubling pattern of unsanitary living conditions, brutal physical attacks, and other dangerous issues at the Jail. We are encouraged that local officials have agreed to a plan that will begin to address the inhumane, unconstitutional conditions that were reflected in Lashawn Thompson’s horrific death.”
The Justice Department initiated its investigation of the Fulton County Jail in July 2023.
The Department’s investigation proceeded under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), Americans with Disabilities Act, and Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law.
These statutes authorize the Attorney General to file a lawsuit in federal court to seek court-ordered remedies to eliminate a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct.
The Department provided Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff with written notice of its findings, along with the supporting facts for its findings, and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address the violations found.
The proposed consent decree seeks to address and resolve those violations.