TUESDAY, 2/18: Lawmakers will hear testimony from community members about the impact of the crisis in the Fulton County Jail
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kathryn Hamoudah 404/688-1202 or [email protected]
What: The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) co-created The People’s Process, a community-centered initiative modeled after international human rights input mechanisms, as a response to Fulton County’s silence on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) damning findings concerning the unconstitutional and inhumane conditions at the Fulton County Jail under Sheriff Patrick Labat.
We have held three assemblies where we’ve heard from people impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the human rights abuses at the jail and have generated recommendations on how to end the inhumane conditions based in part on input from the public.
On Tuesday, SCHR is hosting The People’s Report, an all-day session of planning and conversation, where community members will present testimony to elected officials about their concerns regarding the Fulton County Jail.
Who: Members of the press are invited to attend the legislator listening session. There are currently eight legislators confirmed from the Georgia General Assembly, Atlanta City Council, and other bodies.
When: Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 5:00PM-7:00PM
Where: Auburn Avenue Research Library; 101 Auburn Ave NE; Atlanta, GA 30303
Why: In November 2024, The Department of Justice released a scathing report on the conditions in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail. The report contains graphic details of brutalization of people who are incarcerated by staff and other incarcerated people, jail personnel ignoring allegations of sexual assault, use of excessive force and use of isolation, and an extreme risk of violence and/or neglect for people with mental illness, people perceived as gay or transgender, and children. The neglect of people in the jail is pervasive. The report also raised serious concerns about the unsanitary conditions at the jail, going into extensive detail about housing units full of sewage, pest infestations that are regularly ignored and/or improperly contained to the point of contributing to death, people routinely malnourished due to the lack food, and unsanitary food preparation.
On January 3, 2025, the DOJ agreed on a proposed consent decree with Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff, and a judge issued a court order. The remedies in the proposed consent decree reflect the lived experience shared with the DOJ by people incarcerated in the Fulton County Jail, their families, and their advocates.
The People’s Process was formed to ensure that people impacted by the Fulton County Jail crisis would be included in designing solutions to the problems. This forum allows community members the opportunity to offer meaningful recommendations to elected officials.
The People’s Process partners include Women on the Rise Georgia, Atlanta Community Support Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, All of Us or None Atlanta, Legal Action Center, Color of Change, 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.