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DOJ Report: Atlanta's Fulton County Jail Violated Detainee Rights with Inhumane, Violent Conditions

Nov 14, 2024, 08:55 PM

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a report on Thursday finding that conditions at Georgia's Fulton County Jail in Atlanta violate the constitutional rights of detainees. The investigation concluded that inmates are subjected to inhumane, violent, and hazardous conditions that threaten their safety, including dangerous and unsanitary environments, pest infestations, malnourishment, and neglect. The report highlights the case of a homeless mentally ill man who died in 2022 after being infested with lice and neglected by jail officials. The DOJ found that jail officials fail to protect inmates from violence, use excessive force, and hold them in filthy and unsafe conditions. Those at greatest risk include individuals with mental illness, people perceived as gay or transgender, and children, who are routinely brutalized and sexually assaulted. The findings are the result of a more than year-long civil rights probe into the Fulton County Jail, which leaves inmates vulnerable to substantial risk of serious harm from violence.