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Fulton County Jail's future: Flooding and falling apart
Plumbers spent all night at the Fulton County Jail clearing out water and addressing flooding issues. Wednesday night's torrential rain flooded the facility where at least 10 inmates have died in the last year. Just Thursday, Fulton County Commissioners voted to renovate the aging facility.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat is criticizing the county commission’s decision to spend $1.2 billion to build a new special purpose facility and renovate the Rice Street Jail, saying the plan ignores urgent problems inside the troubled lockup.
What they're saying:
Labat compared Wednesday’s 4–1 approval vote to "being in a burning building and voting to design a new fire station that will not open for five years." He called the move a political maneuver that defies a federal consent decree and fails to address the jail’s immediate safety concerns.
READ FULL STATEMENT
Yesterday’s vote by four members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) to spend a billion dollars to build a special purpose facility is the equivalent to being in a burning building and voting to design a new fire station that will not open for five years. The vote is a political game of smoke and mirrors that flies in the face of the federal consent decree.
Decades since its opening, the Fulton County Rice Street Jail has shown signs of needing replacement starting with the fact it was originally designed and built for single bunking. Before its first day of operation in 1989, it needed to be double bunked to accommodate the growing inmate population. The failing infrastructure is a long-standing problem attributed to the demand put on a system far beyond its designed capacity, from the critically failing pipes that continuously burst and leak, a foundation that consistently floods when it rains, locks that do not work properly, to an outdated HVAC system that span across three federal consent decrees.
The Chairman and three of the BOC members are intentionally NOT addressing the immediate needs of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and delaying the needs of the inmates in our care and custody until the year 2030. The BOC’s failure to act continues to put Fulton County taxpayers at risk of spending billions of dollars on lawsuits, higher construction costs, and higher taxes. This short-sighted thinking is a shining example of people who cannot, and will not, admit they were wrong. They were wrong to turn a blind eye to the need for a new jail facility. They were wrong to abandon the recommendation of experts they commissioned and paid $2 million to tell them what anyone can see for free and they are wrong for now trying to create an ultimate universe where we don’t see them attempting to build a portion of the same jail, piece by piece, without adequately addressing the needs of the current Rice Street facility. It is clear their personal agendas and political grievances are being prioritized over public safety and human dignity.
It is extremely shameful that the BOC’s deliberate indifference will continue to put both our Fulton County Sheriff’s Office staff and inmates directly in harm’s way!
What we know:
Opened in 1989, the Rice Street Jail was designed for single bunking but had to double bunk inmates from day one due to overcrowding. Labat said decades of wear have left the facility plagued by burst pipes, flooding, broken locks, and outdated HVAC systems. The sheriff warned that pushing solutions to 2030 could expose taxpayers to costly lawsuits and rising construction bills.
According to Chairman Rob Pitts, a national consulting firm helped create the 9-year renovation plan. A new special-purpose facility for mental health and medical needs will be constructed first on the Rice Street property. That facility will take 5 years to build. The renovations to the Rice Street jail would happen after that.
Sheriff Labat wants a new jail, but Pitts says the county can't afford a new jail and this plan will save taxpayers money.
The other side:
Commissioner Mo Ivory was the only vote against the plan, primarily because funding has reportedly not been solidified.
"I just cannot support something that I have no idea how it will get funded. To say that we are going to fund this project with a one-sheet explanation of funding, that is dependent on things that might happen. I don’t know how that is any kind of sound financial plan," Ivory said.
FILE PHOTO Security was increased at the Fulton County Jail after several holes were found in the fencing on June 2, 2023. (FOX 5)
The backstory:
The Fulton County Jail has come under fire in recent years for severe overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure and unsafe conditions.
Federal investigators say inmates are frequently exposed to violence, unsanitary living spaces, inadequate medical and mental-health care and excessive uses of force by staff.
More than 30 people have died in county custody since 2021, prompting lawsuits, public outcry and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found the jail to be in violation of inmates’ constitutional rights.