Fulton sheriff pushes back against plan to upgrade deteriorating jail instead of replacing it

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat will talk about the state of the Fulton County Jail during a news conference on Friday.

This week, the county commission decided to renovate the jail for $300 million instead of building a new one for $1.7 billion.

Labat will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. to discuss the decision. Channel 2 Action News will live streamed it on the WSB-TV breaking news app and WSBTV.com .

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The issue of overcrowding and the structure of the jail itself is not new. A 2023 feasibility study found that the jail is “obsolete, overcrowded, deteriorated, and unsafe .”

Channel 2 Action News previously reported in 2023 that the jail has at various points lost power , had holes broken through walls by inmates, attacks on staff by inmates, suffered several incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence , and inmates in sheriff’s office custody die .

On Thursday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office sent a statement about the board’s decision to renovate instead of rebuild.

“We stand by the findings of the jail feasibility study and commissioned and funded by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners: the Rice Street Jail needs to be replaced. The decades-long challenges plaguing the jail are worsening day by day. Sheriff Labat has been very transparent about the critical need for better conditions at the jail.”

RELATED STORIES:

• Commissioners cancel $1.7B Fulton jail rebuild, greenlit $300M renovation instead
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• County leaders want new sales tax to pay for new Fulton County Jail. Why this is the cheaper option
• County leaders may be going back to drawing board over proposal for new Fulton jail

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