July 13 (UPI) — The Department of Justice has opened a civil investigation into jail conditions in Fulton County, Ga., amid allegations that an incarcerated person died “covered in insects and filth.”
DOJ said it had found significant justification to open the investigation due to alleged officer use of excessive force, structurally unsafe and violent conditions in the jail.
Violence in the jail has also resulted in serious injuries and homicides, according to DOJ.
“People in prisons and jails are entitled to basic protections of their civil rights,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “We launched this investigation into the Fulton County Jail based on serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals.”
Garland said the investigation will determine whether systemic violations of federal law exist, and if so, how to correct them.
In April, the jail moved 600 inmates to other counties after the death of Lashawn Thompson. Michael Harper, an attorney for Thompson’s family, said at the time that he was found dead in a “filthy jail cell” after “being eaten alive by insects and bed bugs.”
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said then that the jail experienced an outbreak of infectious disease and was infested with bed bugs and other “vermin.”
The Justice Department said it hasn’t yet reached any conclusions about the allegations regarding conditions in the jail.
The investigation is being done under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Both statutes give DOJ the authority to investigate systemic rights violations of people confined to correctional facilities.
The investigation is being jointly conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia and the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia said in a statement, “The recent allegations of filthy housing teeming with insects, rampant violence resulting in death and injuries, and officers using excessive force are cause for grave concern and warrant a thorough investigation.”
