DOJ Report Exposes Brutality in Fulton County Jail, Leading to Consent Decree and Community Action
In November 2024, the Department of Justice released a scathing report on the inhumane and unconstitutional conditions in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail. The report details graphic accounts of brutality against incarcerated individuals by both staff and other incarcerated people, jail staff ignoring allegations of sexual assault, the excessive use of force and isolation, and the heightened risk of violence faced by people with mental illness, individuals perceived as gay or transgender, and children.
On January 3, 2025, the DOJ reached a proposed consent decree with Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff, which was subsequently approved by a judge through a court order. The remedies outlined in the consent decree reflect the lived experiences shared with the DOJ by those directly impacted by incarceration in Fulton County Jail, as well as their families and advocates.
In response to the County’s lack of action on next steps, The People’s Process was formed by the Southern Center for Human Rights and partners to ensure that individuals directly and indirectly affected by the Fulton County Jail can provide meaningful recommendations to elected officials.
As you might remember, Georgia’s prisons have consistently made headlines due to widespread human rights abuses across the system, as well as the DOJ’s findings, which exposed the horrific conditions inside. In response to this crisis, Governor Kemp is requesting more than $600 million for Georgia’s prison system, including $40 million for the design of a new prison. However, we know that pouring more money into a system without implementing solutions that prioritize decarceration is merely putting a Band-Aid on the problem.
The People’s Process partners include Women on the Rise Georgia, Stop Criminalization of Our Patients, Color of Change, the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration, and Professor Justin Hansford of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
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