ATLANTA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Georgia, Northern), published as received.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that the United States has entered into a court-enforceable agreement to resolve the findings that conditions of confinement at the Fulton County Jail violate the 8th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The United States filed a complaint and a proposed consent decree with Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff in federal court.

“Our report from an investigation of Fulton County and the Fulton County Jail concluded that the Constitutional rights of incarcerated persons are being violated,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The proposed consent decree serves as a cooperative measure to address the grievous pattern of inhumane – and frequently violent – treatment of people in custody, along with the filthy and unsanitary living conditions they endure while awaiting formal charges or trials at the Fulton County Jail. This office is deeply invested in the well-being of all our residents, and we are hopeful that the systemic deficiencies revealed by our report will be remedied through the implementation of the requirements outlined in the decree, along with regular oversight of the progress of Fulton County and the Fulton County Jail, as overseen by an independent monitor.”

“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.”

“Our findings regarding the Fulton County Jail identified serious and life-threatening violations of the Constitution and other laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “Detention in the Fulton County Jail amounted to a death sentence for dozens of people who have been murdered or who died as a result of inhumane conditions inside the facility. The proposed consent decree includes strong remedial provisions, an independent monitor and other remedies that make it a model for addressing these kinds of violations in jails and prisons across the nation. If fully implemented, this consent decree and its comprehensive remedies should reduce violence and unnecessary force; increase the quality of medical and mental health care; reduce the use of unnecessary isolation, particularly for people with mental illness and 17-year-old children; and afford children with disabilities the education to which they are entitled. We thank the County and Sheriff for working with the Justice Department on these long overdue reforms.”

The proposed consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, would resolve the United States’ claims that the Jail engages in a pattern or practice of violating the rights of people incarcerated at the facility. 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;
  • Maintain doors and locks in working order;
  • Require staff to abide by constitutional standards when using force;
  • 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 use of isolation or restrictive housing of vulnerable people who 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.

The United States initiated its investigation of the Fulton County Jail in July 2023. The United States’ 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 United States 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.

The case is being handled by Aileen Bell Hughes, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity & Civil Rights Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebeca Ojeda and Rahul Garabadu of the Northern District of Georgia, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Johnson.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.