The Fulton County Jail, also referred to as Rice Street,[1] is a prison in Atlanta, Georgia. It was built to hold up to 1,125 prisoners in 1989 but now houses over 3,000.[2] The US Department of Justice found in 2024 that conditions in the jail were unconstitutionally "inhumane, violent and hazardous".[3]
Fulton County jail holds both people in pre-trial detention and people who have been convicted and sentenced.[4] The prison is administered by Fulton County.
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024)
The original Fulton County Jail was constructed in 1904 on Pryor Street in downtown Atlanta with a capacity of 400 people.[5]
The current facility was built in 1989 at 901 Rice Street.[6]
A former Fulton County jailer was remanded to prison himself in 2012 on charges of accepting bribes of more than $26,000 to distribute drugs inside the jail.[7]
In September 2022, 35-year-old inmate Mr. Lashawn Thompson died in his cell three months after being arrested kept in pre-trial detention for a misdemeanor.[2][8] His death was considered due to neglect and his family was compensated $4million.[9] The county sheriff, Patrick Labat, fired three jailers after the scandal.[10]
In November, 2024 the Department of Justice reported that Fulton County Jail violated constitutional and statutory rights of prisoners, and that prisoners were vulnerable to serious harm from conditions in the prison.[12][13] In December, 2024 a class action lawsuit was filed against Sheriff Patrick Labat over conditions in the jail. Plaintiffs in the suit include defendants from the YSL RICO trial, and seek a court injunction requiring the sheriff to improve conditions at the jail.[3] In 2024, it was announced that the jail would be renovated rather than constructing a new facility.[14]
In popular culture
The third and fourth seasons of the docuseries60 Days In were set at the Fulton County Jail.[15]
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