Robb Pitts is the Fulton County Chairman. After FOX 5 informed him Wednesday afternoon of a sixth death in the jail in a five-week span, Pitts stated “We have a crisis and emergency in our jail.” Reporting claims that ten inmates have died in the Fulton County Jail thus far in 2023.
The most recent was the death of Shawndre Delmore, 24. Delmore had been in jail for about four months, “being held there on a $2,500 bond for burglary and willful obstruction charges.” According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, Delmore was discovered “unresponsive during a routine check up last Thursday.” Delmore “was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital where he eventually died on Sunday, three days later.”
Reporting notes it is “unclear” why the sheriff’s office “remained quiet about the death” until Wednesday afternoon. Another recent death was inmate Samuel Lawrence, who was found dead in his cell last week. Reporting alleges that “Fulton County inmates are held for long periods of time on low-level offenses.”
Fallon McClure, deputy director for policy and advocacy for the Georgia ACLU, asserted that “The majority of the people who have died in custody have been in custody for a significant amount of time and a lot of them on some particularly small charges.” McClure is awaiting the outcome of the Department of Justice investigation into the jail. She elaborated: “All indications point to it being unconstitutional.”
McClure claims the situation at the jail is “systemic,” due to “to overcrowding” a people not being able to afford their bonds, even in the instances of “lower-level crimes.”
Acknowledging the jail is overcrowded, Pitts advocates moving some inmates to “private for-profit detention facilities outside of metro Atlanta.” Pitt said negotiations are occurring with “two firms, one within the state of Georgia, another outside of the state [in Mississippi], that can accommodate three, four, 500, up to 700 of our inmates.” Pitt is confident that funds can be made available “to make that happen.”
Additional reporting indicates that the Fulton County Courts are overwhelmed with the “massive” RICO cases consuming Fulton County courts, such as those involving Young Slime Life, Former President Trump, and now ‘Stop Cop City’ activists.
McClure is quoted as saying that the inmates accused of crimes are “hurting for no other reason than being unable to see a judge or afford their bond.” McClure didn’t mention that at least one other reason why the inmates are “hurting:” is they committed crimes.
