By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into conditions at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia that will examine whether the facility is discriminating against incarcerated people with mental illnesses, a top department official said on Thursday.
The probe will examine a wide range of issues, from the jail’s living conditions and access to medical and mental health care, to whether jail staff are using excessive force, said Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, during a virtual press conference.
“The Fulton County Sheriff has acknowledged that the main jail is dilapidated and rapidly eroding,” Clarke said. “The level of violence in the jails is deeply concerning, and at one point in 2022, the jails averaged more than one stabbing per day.”
A spokesperson for the jail could not be immediately reached for comment.
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The investigation comes after the jail garnered headlines following the September 2022 death of Lashawn Thompson, an inmate with serious mental illness who died in a filthy and insect-infested cell.
In April 2023, Thompson’s family demanded a criminal investigation into his death, noting unsanitary conditions that were “not fit for a diseased animal” and called for the jail to be closed, according to media reports, citing the family attorney.
A medical examiner hired by his family earlier this year determined that Thompson died of complications from severe neglect to both his mental and physical health.
Clarke said the department had received reports concerning his death and will be examining those as part of a broader look into whether the jail engages in discriminatory or improper patterns of behavior against incarcerated people.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)
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