When Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat took office in 2021, 3600 individuals were incarcerated at the jail located at 901 Rice Street. 600 people sleeping on the floor. More than 90% of the population is Black. While speaking at the Black Men Initiative’s Restoration and Representation Summit, Labat was joined by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley.
The problems at the Fulton County Jail were magnified after the death of Lashawn Thompson in 2022. In January 2025, former Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Department of Justice entered into a consent decree with Fulton County. It called for a series of improvements at the jail aiming at ending violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights. Labat said this was a long-time coming.
“I asked the Department of Justice nine months before they came in here to take a look at what we’re doing because our county commissioners aren’t doing anything about it,” Labat said.
“We don’t need a new jail. We need a replacement jail. Because ultimately, that jail was built for minimum security.”…