State Senate Committee To Probe Fulton County Jail

(RepublicanPress.org) – Recently, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, chose to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 other people on various charges related to their alleged actions involving the past election. One charge against more than a handful of defendants is for violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which carries a minimum of five years behind bars. Recently, a few Republican politicians called for a review of those facilities.

On October 5, the Washington Times reported that Georgia GOP Senators John Albers and Randy Robertson and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones would announce the launch of an investigation into the conditions of the Fulton County jail.

Georgia state Senate to start its own inquiry of troubled Fulton County jailhttps://t.co/swcsiYbC29 pic.twitter.com/QFIufQg36L

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 5, 2023

While Albers admitted legislators “can’t solve all the problems” in the prison, the trio hoped they could go in and make suggestions to “get them on the right track.” The legislator said he planned to appoint a subcommittee to start hearings about the matter in November.

According to reports, the jail is fraught with issues from unsanitary conditions to violence within the prison and overcrowding. Since the end of July, six people have died there. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat reported the facility is rife with shanks, and the walls are falling down around the prisoners. During his campaign, the sheriff said that he wanted to build a new jail, but the price tag is reportedly in the billions.

Albers didn’t indicate the initiative was prompted by the possibility of Trump and his co-defendants occupying the facilities but said it was an issue that “cannot wait” to be addressed. In fact, calls for improvement reportedly increased in May after inmate Lashawn Thompson lost his life and his dead body was discovered covered in insects. An autopsy showed he died of severe neglect.

Currently, the jail holds around 2,600 prisoners and is about 350 beds short on any given day. The facility is so overcrowded that the county reportedly pays for off-site housing for about 1,000 inmates.