FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed another inmate died in custody over the weekend. While they’re not confirming the inmate's name, on Tuesday, 11Alive confirmed the inmate was charged with 2nd-degree arson by Atlanta Police and booked in the Rice Street facility on Dec. 26, 2022.
He had been locked up without bond for months before his attorney could get a judge to grant him bond on April 13, 2023. That was 108 days after Atlanta Police arrested him. Records show his attorney asked for a bond reduction because his client couldn’t afford the bond. A hearing was set for next month.
“This is the one that makes me the most sad," Meg Strickler, an Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney, said. "He was detained prior to anything happening because he couldn’t afford to bail out. That’s the two-tiered system that kills me."
According to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, at least 16 inmates have died in the months since LaSawn Thompson's death on Sept. 13, 2022. Four of those deaths came after the Department of Justice opened a civil investigation on July 13, 2023.
“The fact that anyone is dying is reprehensible,” Strickler said, adding that the system is failing these individuals, and “a majority of them (inmates) are people who can’t afford bond.”
The following eight inmate deaths while in the custody of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office since September 2022 had been previously publicly disclosed and reported on by 11Alive:
- 8/26/2023 - Not yet publicly identified
- 8/17/2023 - Alexander Hawkins
- 8/11/2023 - Christopher Smith
- 8/1/2023 - Montay Stinson
- 7/11/2023 - Noni Battiste-Kosoko
- 11/20/2022 - Christopher Gray
- 10/19/2022 - Shamar McLeroy
- 9/13/2022 - LaShawn Thompson
While all eight inmates were in the custody of the Fulton County Sheriff's office at the time of their deaths, Noni Battiste-Kosoko was being housed at the Atlanta City Detention Center on Peachtree Street. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is leasing space at that facility due to overcrowding.
During the announcement of its investigation, the DOJ said it found “significant justification” to open the investigation, including “credible allegations that an incarcerated person died covered in insects and filth, that the Fulton County Jail is structurally unsafe, that prevalent violence has resulted in serious injuries and homicides, and that officers are being prosecuted for using excessive force.”
Since the announcement of the investigation, four out of the eight inmates have died inside the Rice Street facility.
The DOJ said the scope of their investigation will “examine living conditions, medical and mental health care, use of excessive force, and protection from violence.”
The investigation will also examine whether Fulton County and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office discriminate against persons with psychiatric disabilities inside the jail.
“There are just so many moving parts and it’s going to take a lot to fix but it’s getting to a point where we are in an emergency state,” Strickler said.
She also pointed to homelessness and mental health as a part of the problem happening inside the facility. Strickler said she’s had clients with mental illness who were not getting the proper medication while locked up. She said often, what they see is that an inmate who suffers from a mental crisis can become violent inside the jail without the proper medication. The cycle continues until they get help or something terrible happens.
Strickler said in cases where the detainee suffers from a mental health crisis or is homeless, they can’t afford bond. She said there are ways to hold people facing charges accountable without keeping them locked up for weeks, months or even years.
“Remember these people aren’t found guilty yet,” Strickler pointed out.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story reported that there were at least eight deaths of inmates in the custody of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office in the past year that 11Alive had previously reported on. This story has been updated with new information from the sheriff's office that a total of 16 inmates have died since September 2022.