Cornell Harrell
Date of death: Feb. 8
Age: 26
Cornell Harrell was incarcerated at the Fulton County jail at the time of his death. A medical examiner’s report says, “He was found unresponsive by another inmate within the cell. Emergency Medical Services transported him to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.” His death certificate says he died of a “seizure disorder.” Authorities say he suffered from bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression.
Yavin Jackson
Date of death: March 18
Age: 24
Yavin Jackson was an inmate at the Fulton County jail. The medical examiner’s report says he was found unresponsive on a bed in a common area of the jail and “was transported to a hospital where he was subsequently pronounced deceased. He has a reported medical history of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and seizures.” The report says he probably died from a seizure related to a motor vehicle accident in 2016.
Jeffrey Jackson
Date of death: April 14
Age: 65
Jeffrey Jackson was reportedly found unresponsive and “kneeling prone” in his assigned cell at the Fulton County jail. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at Grady Memorial Hospital. His death certificate shows he died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Records say he had a medical history of vascular disease, schizophrenia and dementia.
Noni Battiste-Kosoko
Credit: Family Photo
Credit: Family Photo
Date of death: July 11
Age: 19
Noni Battiste-Kosoko died in the Atlanta City Detention Center, where Fulton County leases cell space. The Fulton County Medical Examiner said Battiste-Kosoko died of “toxicity” of a drug used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She was arrested in February for trespassing at the high school she had once attended in Fairburn. After not showing up for a court hearing on those charges, she was arrested again in April on a minor drug charge in Union City and later taken into custody by Fulton County sheriff’s deputies. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, she had told police she was homeless.
Montay Stinson
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Date of death: July 31
Age: 40
Montay Stinson had been at the Fulton County jail since October 2022 after being arrested on a charge of second-degree burglary. According to reporting in the AJC, Stinson was found unresponsive with “no obvious signs of injury” in his cell. Jail and medical personnel unsuccessfully attempted to revive him. The sheriff’s office says he died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Christopher Smith
Date of death: Aug. 10
Age: 34
Christopher Smith was found unresponsive in a medical unit cell at the Fulton County jail. Smith was resuscitated by medical personnel, but died after being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He had been held without bond since October 2019 on felony and misdemeanor charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and third-degree cruelty to children.
Alexander Hawkins
Date of death: Aug. 17
Age: 66
Alexander Hawkins was found unresponsive in a medical unit cell at the Fulton County jail. Medical personnel tried to revive him. He was being held on a shoplifting charge and had been granted a $5,000 bond 10 days before he died. Hawkins had been arrested July 31 and was initially held at the Atlanta City Detention Center before being transferred to the Fulton County jail on Aug. 5. Fulton County records show he died at Grady Hospital.
Samuel Lawrence
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Date of death: Aug. 26
Age: 34
Samuel Lawrence was found unresponsive in his cell at the Fulton County jail. He was taken to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was arrested the day after Christmas 2022 for second-degree arson, according to The AJC. More than 200 days later, he had still not been formally charged. His bond was $30,000. Shortly before he died, Lawrence filed a civil rights complaint against the Fulton jail, its deputies and other staff. Across roughly a dozen handwritten pages, he wrote about poor conditions that had him sleeping on a “hard metal floor” and lacking water or a working toilet at times. A federal lawsuit alleges that Lawrence was beaten regularly by inmates and guards and had been denied access to food and medical treatment. “I don’t know how much more I can take,” Lawrence wrote a few days before his death.
Dayvion Blake
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Date of death: Aug. 31
Age: 23
Dayvion Blake was stabbed during a fight involving several inmates at the Fulton County jail. County records show he died at Grady Hospital. The sheriff’s office said “a dispute between a group of inmates” led to multiple stabbings that left four other detainees injured. Blake had been in Fulton’s custody since January. He was facing charges including cocaine possession and battery, according to the AJC. A sheriff’s spokesperson said Blake also had a warrant in Sumter County for aggravated assault.
Shawndre Delmore
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Date of death: Sept. 3
Age: 24
Shawndre Delmore was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital, three days after he was found unresponsive in a Fulton County jail cell. He was arrested April 1 by Atlanta police on charges of burglary and obstruction. He was granted a $5,000 bond two days later, and that amount was reduced to $2,500 in July. Records show Delmore was given a signature bond on September 1, the day after he was taken to the hospital. An attorney for his family told the AJC that “his release, even though he was on life support … possibly was an attempt to say that he did not die in the Fulton County Jail.” Preliminary findings showed the otherwise healthy Delmore died of cardiac arrest, the family’s lawyers told reporters.
Where we gathered our information
This listing was compiled using information gathered by Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporters, as well as names and other details supplied by Fulton County officials. Information was also obtained from funeral home death notices, a database of Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, as well as death certificates and Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office reports obtained through open records requests. Photos were provided by families and legal representatives.
