Civil rights activist joins family's call for justice in Fulton County Jail assault case

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A 20-year-old woman is on life support after a brutal jail beating at the Fulton County Jail, and her family is demanding answers while calling for the troubled facility to be closed.

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Tyriana Ledbetter, described by her mother as mentally disabled and reading at a sixth grade level, was attacked inside her cell and is now in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital. Fellow inmate Shania White has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and tampering with evidence.

Tyriana Ledbetter's mother: ‘No one even contacted me’

What they're saying:

Ledbetter’s mother, Gloria Buckner, said her daughter should never have been housed with White. "She has been strangled. You can say whatever you want, but it does not justify seeing how I had to go up and watch my baby fight for her life on their marks all over her body. She’s unresponsive," Buckner said. "I am left to pick up the pieces and find out what has really happened to my daughter and why no one even contacted me."

Buckner alleged the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office delayed notifying her and showed little transparency. "They got somebody they are charging, but that still does not… it goes all the way down to the staff. It goes down to the people who are in there. Somebody should have seen my daughter under the bed," she said.

National civil rights activist John C. Barnett traveled to Atlanta to support the family, pointing to failures in the court system and conditions at the jail. "She’s been here for six months, and the first court date, public defender didn’t show up. Second court date? Public defender didn’t show up, third court date? Public defender didn’t show up," Barnett said. He compared the Fulton County facility to Mississippi’s Parchman prison, which has been cited for inhumane conditions.

Buckner criticized the sheriff’s response and accused him of being insensitive. Her daughter’s sister, Tyshun Barney, said the family feels the sheriff’s office is only "going through the motions."

Ledbetter, who attended high school in Conyers, had been jailed on armed robbery and other charges. Her mother said none of that justifies the conditions. "This jail is not fit for a dog to live in. And we have seen the pictures. You have people being eaten up by bedbugs here," Buckner said.

Fulton County Sheriff's response

The other side:

The sheriff's office released the following statement:

"Sheriff Labat and an FCSO Chaplain spent hours at the hospital with Ledbetter’s mother and sister affording them the opportunity to visit with her on 9/30. He met with them to provide support and information. Ledbetter did not provide any emergency contact information at the time of her intake, so it was not until 9/25 that her mother was identified and a contact number was found for her. When the Chaplain spoke to her on 9/25, he told her that she could visit the next day on 9/26. It was not until 9/30 that the visit took place per the mother’s schedule.

"We take the safety of those in our custody with the utmost seriousness. We will not engage in speculation while the attack is under investigation. We will review all aspects of the incident to ensure accountability and transparency."

What's next:

Barnett said he intends to alert the FBI, GBI and Justice Department. The Fulton County Jail has already been under a federal consent decree over past deaths and injuries.

Tyriana Ledbetter's assault

The backstory:

Authorities said Marianna Ledbetter was assaulted last week inside her cell and remains hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital. An arrest warrant states she suffered brain damage and has shown no neurological responses. She was found on her cell bed with a hematoma on her forehead and eye, as well as redness around her neck.

Deputies have charged her 27-year-old cellmate, Shania White, with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and tampering with evidence.

Ledbetter’s mother provided FOX 5 with a photo of her daughter and said the family is devastated, demanding answers about how such an attack was able to happen.

A former Fulton County jailer who worked at the facility for three decades told FOX 5 that the incident points to management and operational failures, which have already been cited in federal reports about the jail.

Fulton County Jail woes

Dig deeper:

Fulton County’s Rice Street Jail has long been plagued by serious problems ranging from violence to understaffing and deteriorating infrastructure. 

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing civil rights report declaring the jail’s conditions "inhumane, violent and hazardous," citing frequent stabbings, unchecked use of force, and inadequate medical and mental health care for inmates.

READ MORE ABOUT FULTON COUNTY JAIL

Compounding the problem, the jail has been chronically understaffed — in some shifts, vacancy rates reportedly reached above 70 percent — leaving large housing units unsupervised and contributing to an environment where violence can flourish. 

In response, Fulton County entered into a federal consent decree in early 2025. The agreement mandates sweeping reforms to safety, cleanliness, staffing, medical services and oversight, with regular monitoring and public reporting. 

The county’s Board of Commissioners also approved a $1.1 billion renovation plan for the jail in August 2025. The plan aims to repair chronic infrastructure issues and improve conditions, but critics argue that a full rebuild may ultimately be necessary. 

These longstanding issues have fueled distrust and organized calls for accountability, especially in light of more recent incidents like the critical assault on inmate Marianna Ledbetter.

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