Jennifer_04
07-17-2004, 04:07 AM
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
Eighty-two convicted criminals have been transferred from the Fulton County Jail to state prison, and another 92 should be removed within a week, according to an assistant state attorney general.
Senior Assistant Attorney General John C. Jones provided the information Thursday to U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob, who has taken oversight of the understaffed, overcrowded jail away from Sheriff Jackie Barrett.
Shoob acted in a lawsuit filed last month by the Southern Center for Human Rights, which claims conditions are inhumane and unsafe for inmates and staff. The jail was designed for about 1,400 inmates but averages more than 3,000.
Shoob assembled about 50 judges, prosecutors and other county and state officials Thursday to discuss ways to quickly whittle the number of inmates down to about 2,200.
Overcrowding is just one problem at the jail. The plumbing is backed up, there is widespread mold and the air conditioning doesn't work. Morale is low and the jail is understaffed due to vacancies and a high number of absences, according to a court-appointed jail monitor.
On Wednesday, Shoob appointed John Gibson, former jail administrator of the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, to take control of the jail from Barrett.
So I guess the people in other county jails will have to wait a little longer huh?
Eighty-two convicted criminals have been transferred from the Fulton County Jail to state prison, and another 92 should be removed within a week, according to an assistant state attorney general.
Senior Assistant Attorney General John C. Jones provided the information Thursday to U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob, who has taken oversight of the understaffed, overcrowded jail away from Sheriff Jackie Barrett.
Shoob acted in a lawsuit filed last month by the Southern Center for Human Rights, which claims conditions are inhumane and unsafe for inmates and staff. The jail was designed for about 1,400 inmates but averages more than 3,000.
Shoob assembled about 50 judges, prosecutors and other county and state officials Thursday to discuss ways to quickly whittle the number of inmates down to about 2,200.
Overcrowding is just one problem at the jail. The plumbing is backed up, there is widespread mold and the air conditioning doesn't work. Morale is low and the jail is understaffed due to vacancies and a high number of absences, according to a court-appointed jail monitor.
On Wednesday, Shoob appointed John Gibson, former jail administrator of the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, to take control of the jail from Barrett.
So I guess the people in other county jails will have to wait a little longer huh?