Fulton County Jail’s mission statement reads: “It is the mission of the Fulton County Detention Center to safely and humanely house incarcerated offenders in such a manner as to protect the public, protect the institution and protect the inmates, all while offering offenders the opportunity to better prepare themselves for their return to society through participation in the programs at our facility.”
But recent headlines suggest the Atlanta jail isn’t adhering to those values. On Wednesday (April 12), CBS News reported an inmate named LaShawn Thompson was in jail for three months when he was found dead in a dirty jail cell “after being eaten alive by bed bugs and insects.”
Then earlier this month, YFN Lucci—who’s been incarcerated at Fulton County since January 2021—was on camera appearing to throw back a bottle of lean like he’s at summer camp.
But that was only the beginning. In another particularly disturbing video from within the Fulton County Jail walls, an alleged YSL member is hogtied and gagged as he’s viciously assaulted by a purported YFN member. In the clip, the man is being hit so hard, his skull is heard bouncing off the ground. The attacker also has a knife and films himself trying to scrape off the assault victim’s tattoo.
Fulton County Jail has been scrutinized multiple times in the past. Last December, an inmate’s family alleged their relative was forced to defecate in a garbage bag after a water line rupture. Inmates were also without heat during a winter storm brought below-freezing temperatures to metro Atlanta. Still, they were told they couldn’t walk around with blankets to stay warm.
As for the bed bug incident, jail records revealed detention officers and medical staff at the jail noticed the man’s deteriorating health but did nothing to help him, leading to his death last September.
The family is calling for a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death, as well as the closure and replacement of the Fulton County Jail. Perhaps that’s a good idea.
