Fulton County Jail plans to release prisoners and reduce court arrests

Fulton County commissioners and county leaders announced the approval of a new plan to relieve overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail. County officials recommended moving eligible detainees to other facilities, releasing those incarcerated on low bonds into pre-trial supervision, and reducing the number of people jailed on failure to appear charges by sending text messages […] The post Fulton County Jail plans to release prisoners and reduce court arrests appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

Mar 6, 2026 - 19:03

Fulton County Jail plans to release prisoners and reduce court arrests

Fulton County commissioners and county leaders announced the approval of a new plan to relieve overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail. County officials recommended moving eligible detainees to other facilities, releasing those incarcerated on low bonds into pre-trial supervision, and reducing the number of people jailed on failure to appear charges by sending text messages to remind defendants of court dates.

Current detainees could be moved to the new Center for Diversion and Services housed in the same building as the Atlanta City Jail. The diversion center is a, separate, 24-hour facility designed as an alternative to jail, offering mental health and, support services with its own dedicated, non-jail entrance.

The jail, locally known as Rice Street came under intense scrutiny on local and national levels for a number of issues related to health and safety issues that lead to the deaths of at least a dozen inmates last year, with six of those deaths have been conclusively murders and another six who died from negligence when officers did not respond to requests for help.

The announcemnt comes nearly two years after the U.S. Senate Committee on Public Safety held a series of meetings regarding conditions at the beleaguered Fulton County Jail and a year after the U.S. Department of Justice issued a scathing report regarding the conditions at the jail local , local led the Fulton County Commission is issuing an update on improvement plans.

County and jail officials are now focused on long-term solutions to prevent delays and keep jail numbers down. Key initiatives include alternatives to incarceration, subsidized ankle monitors for eligible individuals, enhancements to Accountability Courts to address underlying issues and major investment — up to $300 million — in jail renovations.

As of mid-October 2025, at least five, and possibly more, people died while in the custody of the Fulton County Jail, with reports indicating ongoing issues with overcrowding. While the sheriff’s office officially reported four deaths earlier in the year, other sources indicate that additional deaths, including those ruled accidental by medical examiners, have occurred.

In May of 2024, investigations were initiated after more than 1,000 assaults occurred in the jail in 2023, including 314 stabbings, according to the report. “In 2023, the rate of stabbings at the Jail was 1.5 times the rate of stabbings in the New York City Jails and more than 27 times the rate of all incidents involving an edged weapon in the Miami-Dade County Jails,” the report states. “The Jail had as many stabbings in a single month as the Miami-Dade County Jails – which house 1.5 times more people – had all year.”

The most infamous case of death due to Fulton County jail conditions drew national attention after inmate Lashawn Thompson was found dead in a filthy jail cell laying in his own waste face down in a cell toilet after having been eaten alive by bed bugs.

Following that incident the U.S. Department of Justice issued a blistering report regarding the conditions in the jail in Atlanta, saying it “violate[d] the constitutional and statutory rights of people incarcerated … [and] killings, stabbings, and assaults are common in the jail.”

Following the release of the report, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts and Sheriff Patrick Labat released a joint statement regarding the DOJ findings.

“While we are still reviewing the detailed report issued today by the Department of Justice regarding their civil rights investigation into the Fulton County Jail, Fulton County has worked closely with DOJ officials throughout this investigation.

Everyone at Fulton County shares the goal of ensuring that our Jail is safe and humane, and we agree with the Department of Justice that the issues identified are fixable. We believe our planned repairs and other programs will address the needed Jail improvements and are committed to continuing to working with the Department of Justice and the community to address the issues identified,” the statement said.

The notorious facility made more national headlines when former president Donald Trump and 16 of his cohorts in the Georgia elections scandal were booked at the facility in August of 2023 on RICO and election tampering charges.

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