strongernow
07-23-2004, 03:23 PM
New jail administrator `ready to go'
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
The new Fulton County Jail administrator said he is like a race horse at the starting gate, "ready to go."
"I'm in the stall waiting for the gate to open," John Gibson said Thursday, the day before being sworn in to take over for Sheriff Jackie Barrett.
U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob appointed Gibson, a retired administrator of the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, to take control of the overcrowded and problem-plagued county jail after the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit in June citing serious health and safety concerns for inmates and staff.
Gibson, 54, said he had helped clean up jails in New York and Pennsylvania and will begin duties in Fulton County by having the 3,000-inmate jail disinfected and painted. He wants to get rid of graffiti, which he sees as a sign that inmates have been in control.
"I've cleaned up a few prisons," Gibson said. "I perceive it as a challenge."
As administrator, Gibson will have the authority to hire and fire jail staff, order improvements within the jail's budget and can ask the county commission for extra funds if needed.
"I had heard all these war stories about the jail," Gibson said. "I'm going to shake down cells and get rid of weapons. It will create a sense of calm."
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
The new Fulton County Jail administrator said he is like a race horse at the starting gate, "ready to go."
"I'm in the stall waiting for the gate to open," John Gibson said Thursday, the day before being sworn in to take over for Sheriff Jackie Barrett.
U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob appointed Gibson, a retired administrator of the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, to take control of the overcrowded and problem-plagued county jail after the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit in June citing serious health and safety concerns for inmates and staff.
Gibson, 54, said he had helped clean up jails in New York and Pennsylvania and will begin duties in Fulton County by having the 3,000-inmate jail disinfected and painted. He wants to get rid of graffiti, which he sees as a sign that inmates have been in control.
"I've cleaned up a few prisons," Gibson said. "I perceive it as a challenge."
As administrator, Gibson will have the authority to hire and fire jail staff, order improvements within the jail's budget and can ask the county commission for extra funds if needed.
"I had heard all these war stories about the jail," Gibson said. "I'm going to shake down cells and get rid of weapons. It will create a sense of calm."