We support Fulton County’s move to scrap its plans for constructing a new $1.7 billion jail in Atlanta. This shift follows years of our advocacy for Fulton officials to not build a new jail and instead focus on reducing the jail population.
County officials are instead eyeing renovations at Fulton County Jail. We welcome the news, as we’ve repeatedly warned the elected officials in charge of the jail that a costly new facility would not address the safety concerns stemming from mismanagement, perilous conditions, and overcrowding.
Additionally, we settled a lawsuit in late June, filed on behalf of Barred Business, against the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for its failure to comply with a court rule pertaining to unindicted individuals. The district attorney agreed to comply with the rule, which will help speed up case processing, shorten pretrial detention and, consequently, alleviate some of the dangerous conditions in the jail.
The course reversal by the county and the lawsuit settlement are steps in the right direction.
“We reiterate that the wholesale warehousing of people pre-trial is expensive and does not make our communities safer. There are better solutions and we will continue to advocate for more effective approaches to safe communities,” said Andrea Young, executive director, ACLU of Georgia.
These developments reflect the desires of Georgians. One of the several studies the ACLU of Georgia carried out in its push to stop the plans for the new mega-jail (the replacement facility would have been the most expensive in the nation) found that two out of three Fulton County voters believe officials should renovate rather than replace, as well as use the savings to invest in alternatives to incarceration.
There’s still much work to be done, and we’re strategizing our next steps to ensure no one dies behind its walls, or is held for longer than warranted just because they lack the money to pay for bail.
In The News
Fulton County scraps plans for new $1.7B jail for a $300M renovation
Fulton County decides against new jail, opts for renovation
Commissioners cancel $1.7B Fulton jail rebuild, greenlit $300M renovation instead
Jail Research Reports
Below are links to three jail research reports conducted by the ACLU of Georgia and partners:
Prison Policy Initiative: Fulton County Jail Expansion Plans and Feasibility Study (2024)
Breaking the Cycle: Exploring Alternatives to a New Jail (2023)
There are Better Solutions: An Analysis of Fulton County's Jail Population Data (2022)
