On Feb. 21, the Fulton County Jail reached a new stage after a judge approved the appointment of Kathleen Kenney to be the consent decree monitor. As the process ramps up, it is important for community members to understand what it will entail, where we can expect progress and what changes must occur outside the consent decree to reduce jail deaths and violence.
The Department of Justice report released in November 2024 on Fulton County Jail established the foundation for the consent decree. The report found that the county was regularly violating the constitutional rights of people housed at the facility. Guards would use violence against people, sexual assault allegations went uninvestigated and severe overcrowding contributed to 10 deaths in 2022 and 15 deaths in 2023. In response, Fulton County entered an agreement in January with the DOJ to take steps to ensure that the county was complying with the U.S. Constitution, and this agreement is known as a consent decree. Kenney will oversee this process.
The agreement’s process is likely to be lengthy and costly. The monitor will spend at least the next two years reviewing and implementing steps to rectify the constitutional violations at the jail. These steps can run the gamut from fixing locks on cell doors to providing special education services to children with disabilities in the jail. The monitor will also be responsible for ensuring there are trainings for officers, equipment upgrades, better pest control services and better plans for supervision. It’s unclear how much these much-needed changes will cost the county, but Fulton County Jail ended a previous consent decree in 2016 having spent around $1B to comply. The fact that we are entering another consent decree so soon is an indication of the long-standing problems at the jail.
Some of these changes are already underway. The jail population has been reduced from a high of 3,500 in summer 2023 to around 2,500 currently. This has enabled the Fulton County Commission to embark on a “jail blitz” where incarcerated people are moved around to different parts of the jail so damaged sections can be repaired and improved. Major challenges remain. The consent decree is far from a panacea.
The agreement focuses squarely on conditions within the jail, and does not tackle what drives the jail population, and therefore ignores the overcrowding challenge that has driven jail deaths. It also leaves in place the sheriff after commissioners discovered evidence the sheriff’s office misused the inmate welfare fund on consultants and promotional events. Therefore, it is important that lawmakers do not sit back and expect the DOJ to solve all their problems.
The consent decree merely assures that Fulton County is doing the bare minimum of not violating the constitutional rights of its incarcerated citizens.
The county can and must do more. In the FY25 Budget, Fulton County allocated $2.5 million to support the new diversion center. If the center is working, we should see further jail reductions. To ensure this happens, Fulton County should request that Atlanta Police and the Solicitor General release a monthly report on diversion data, including missed diversion, with explanations and remedial steps. The county should also task the judicial system with the creation of a special “missed diversion” calendar to address bond issues.
Credit: Adrienne Johnson/contributed
Credit: Adrienne Johnson/contributed
Credit: Mike Collins/contributed
Credit: Mike Collins/contributed
We know anecdotally that despite accused persons appearing as required, court dates are often reset months in the future because police officers do not show up to scheduled hearings. This not only inconveniences people who have modified their schedules to appear in court as required but further slows the court’s dockets. The court should report how many cases were reset because officers were unavailable, how much more time a person was incarcerated as a result of officer failure to appear and the cost to the county for the increased incarceration and court time.
Prosecutors should hold routine bond reconsiderations for people held pretrial. Sometimes, people are held for months on small amounts of cash because they cannot afford it, so prosecutors should work to avoid detaining someone purely based on their financial circumstances.
Our coalition — Community Over Cages — will remain focused on reducing the jail population and making the jail safer. We will continue to meet with the DOJ and educate lawmakers as the consent decree process develops. We are planning more events so the community and impacted people, especially low-income people of color, have a seat at the table and a voice on these matters.
The consent decree represents an opportunity for the county to make good on its promises to protect all of its citizens. But more must be done.
Lawmakers must work in tandem with the DOJ to reduce overcrowding and incarceration levels. Prosecutors must do their part to reduce the jail population. And we, the people, must hold all stakeholders accountable to stop the death and destruction at the Fulton County Jail.
Michael Collins is the senior director for government affairs at Color Of Change. He is based in Atlanta.
Adrienne Johnson is an Atlanta native, former DeKalb County public defender, law professor and senior counsel at The Wren Collective.
Both are members of the Community Over Cages Coalition, which fights to reduce jail deaths and incarceration in Fulton County.
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