Working Together to Stop the Construction of a New $2 Billion Jail in Fulton County.

Read About Our Coalition Launch From June 12, 2024

Who We Are

We are a collection of national and local organizations, based in Fulton County, who oppose the construction of a new $2 billion jail as proposed by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

Our coalition includes legal experts, people with lived experience in Fulton's legal system, healthcare providers, and community organizers and activists with a shared goal of a Fulton county that enables the health and safety of all communities.

We believe the county must focus on diversion, decarceration, and non-carceral alternatives.

We envision Fulton County executing community safety strategies that use incarceration as a last resort, maximizes the use of non-coercive systems of care, and prioritizes addressing the needs of its most vulnerable residents.

Coalition Partners

c1b234_7c3d6cc5385c4dce827a31c3c3179c8d~mv2_d_6000_6000_s_4_2.jpg

What we want

An end to the dehumanization experienced by incarcerated individuals in Fulton County.
No more jail deaths.
For Fulton county to use all readily available legal mechanisms to maximally decarcerate existing facilities. this includes the end of wealth-based detention.
For Fulton county to continue to build non-carceral alternatives that do not rely on the legal system to facilitate social services.

Jail Care is Failed Care.

What we’re doing:

Educating the public on the issues surrounding the two billion dollar new jail proposal.
Pushing city, county, and state legislators and officials to reconceptualize what constitutes public safety.
Advocating for an increase in direct community-based services outside of the legal system.
Pushing prosecutors and judges to end the use of wealth-based detention, expedite the clearing of case backlogs, and maximize the use of already existing diversion services.
Providing support to public defenders in Fulton County.

What we’ve done:

1.

Successfully advocated for reduction in jail population, moving population from 3670 people in the system (2576 in Rice Street) in August 2023 to 2647 people in the system (1720 in Rice Street) by May 2024.

2.

Testified before the Senate Public Safety Committee in opposition to the new jail.

3.

Testified before the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in opposition to the new jail.

4.

Drafted op-eds and press releases, and appearances on TV and online opposing the new jail.

GET INVOLVED

Educate and Advocate:

Educate yourself and others about the impacts of the proposed jail and the benefits of decarceration, then share this information through discussions and social media.
Advocate by contacting public officials and participating in community events to raise awareness and support for decarceration efforts.

Support and Participate in Initiatives:

Get involved with local and national organizations, attend meetings, volunteer, and participate in campaigns for legislative changes.
Contribute financially or help with fundraising efforts to support initiatives aimed at reducing jail populations.

Share Personal Stories and Successes:

Share personal experiences with the legal system to humanize the issue and highlight the need for change.
Highlight success stories and engage with media to amplify the project's message and influence public opinion.

Learn More →

Resources

Schr And Coc Urge Fulton County Commissioners Against Transferring People Incarcerated In The Fulton County Jail To Facilities Outside Metro Atlanta

Press Release

Read
Letter to Fani Willis, Fulton County District Attorney

Read
Letter to Dear Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Atlanta City Council, the Chief Judge of the Superior, State and Magistrate Courts, DA Willis, SG Gammage, Sheriff Labat

Read
Breaking the Cycle: Exploring Alternatives to a New Jail

ACLU Georgia Data Report 2023

Read
Letter to Robert Pitts, Chair, Fulton County Board of Commissioners

Proposal to Transfer Incarcerated People from the Fulton County Jail

Read
Beware the Healthier Cage: In Atlanta politicians are pushing for a bigger jail they claim will be more humane. But health-care workers are pushing back.

Artice from Inquest, August 2023

Read
Some myths on incarceration, healthcare here

Article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 2024

Read
Jail Feasibility Study

Presented to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners February 2023

View Presentation
Fulton commissioners want answers from sheriff on inmate wristbands

Article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 2023

Read
Georgia Senate to launch probe into Fulton jail’s dangerous conditions

Article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 2023

Read
Does our county really need a bigger jail?

A guide for avoiding unnecessary jail expansion from the Prison Policy Initiative, May 2019

Click Here
Letter to the Fulton County Commissioners

From ACLU Georgia, April 2023

Click Here
Fulton County Jail Population Review: Assessing Short- and Long-Term Jail Use Trends

Presented to the Atlanta City Council by the Justice Policy Board, November 18, 2022

Read
Reducing Jail Overcrowding Without Increasing Crime

CICS Executive Director Tahir Duckett and Lauren Young (L’23) examine the community safety implications of addressing jail overcrowding in Fulton County, Georgia by expanding the County’s capacity to incarcerate.

Read
There Are Better Solutions: An Analysis of Fulton County’s Jail Population Data, 2022

An analysis of people jailed by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office finds that the County could eliminate long-term overcrowding at Fulton County Jail without leasing additional space at the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC).

Read
Community members urge Senate subcommittee investigating Fulton Jail to invest in diversion programs

Article, WABE

READ MORE
10 inmates have died this year at Georgia's Fulton County Jail. Is a new facility the solution?

Article, Yahoo! News

Click Here