Another inmate was recently found dead in their cell in the Fulton County Jail’s medical unit, according to a press release by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO).
Last week, the FCSO announced that inmate Alexander Hawkins, age 66, was found unresponsive in his medical unit cell on August 17. Hawkins was pronounced dead after medical personnel were unsuccessful at attempts to revive him.
Hawkins, being held on a shoplifting charge with a $5,000 bond, was initially arrested by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) on July 31 and taken to the Atlanta City Detention Center, according to the FCSO. Hawkins had a municipal court hearing on August 1, and his case was bound over to Fulton County Superior Court. Hawkins was taken by APD and booked at the Rice Street Jail on August 5.
Hawkins’ death comes after two other inmates passed away at the jail this month, as previously reported by The Georgia Star News.
On August 2, the FCSO announced that inmate Montay Stinson, 40, was found unresponsive with no apparent signs of injury in his cell two days prior on July 31.
Ten days later, on August 12, the FCSO announced that inmate Christopher Smith, 34, was found by a detention officer unresponsive in a medical unit cell on August 10. Medical personnel resuscitated Smith and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital; however, he died on August 11.
In all three cases, the FCSO added in its press releases, “The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.”
The inmate deaths come as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia are currently investigating living conditions, medical and mental health care, use of excessive force, and protection from violence at the jail. The investigation will also determine whether Fulton County and the FCSO discriminate against persons with psychiatric disabilities inside the jail.
The investigation was announced nearly a year after an incarcerated man – Lashawn Thompson – was found dead in a cell on the jail’s psychiatric floor covered in bed bugs and insects. The jail has also faced “credible allegations” that claim it is structurally unsafe.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.
