The parents of a Fulton County detainee who was stabbed 20 times with a shank crafted from the jail’s crumbling walls are suing the sheriff and the county, alleging officials failed to keep their son safe behind bars.
The killing of 37-year-old Leonard Fortner last year sparked criticism over deteriorating conditions and widespread violence inside the troubled Rice Street facility.
In a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on the anniversary of his killing, Fortner’s parents alleged their son was “fed to the wolves” when the HIV-positive and LGBTQ+ detainee was placed in the jail’s general population alongside inmates charged with violent crimes.
Fulton inmate’s fatal stabbing spurs concern among county officials, mayor
The parents contend that the jail is consistently mismanaged, overcrowded and understaffed, and that detainees identified as gay or transgender are particularly vulnerable to violence…