Tag: Sheriff Pat Labat

Fulton County Sheriff Candidate Kirt Beasley Questions Reports of Jail Walls Crumbling

Tom Pappert
Kirt Beasley

Fulton County Sheriff’s candidate Kirt Beasley, who is challenging embattled Sheriff Pat Labat in the Democratic primary, questioned the veracity of reports about the Fulton County Jail that began during Labat’s tenure.

Reports from the jail claim the walls are crumbling to such a degree that inmates are able to disassemble them to create makeshift weapons, and at least two inmates were entrusted by Labat to testify about the jail’s conditions to the Fulton County Commission last year.

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New Fulton County Jail Expected to Cost over $1.7 Billion, Finish in 2031

Tom Pappert

If funding for a new jail in Fulton County is approved next year, the facility could open in 2029, but will not be finished until 2031, according to a presentation received by Fulton County commissioners on Wednesday. The county considers a new jail as the Georgia State Senate investigates the conditions at the troubled Fulton County Jail.

The proposed facility will cost nearly $1.76 billion, and will boast enough room to provide accommodations and services for 4,416 inmates, according to the presentation delivered by consultants from architecture firms TreanorHL and STV.

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Democratic Georgia State Senator Calls for Fulton County Sheriff to Resign for Jail ‘Crisis’

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Joshua McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) called for embattled Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat (D) to resign on Monday in response to the “crisis” at the Fulton County Jail.

McLaurin cited Labat’s recent controversies, which include allegations he used the jail’s Inmate Welfare Fund as a “slush fund” and questions about why medical bracelets purchased from a company tied to Georgia legislators were not being used at the facility, before calling for his resignation.

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Fulton County Jail Moves Up to 70 Inmates to Forsyth County amid Severe Overcrowding, ‘149,200-Case Backlog’

Tom Pappert
Inmate Behind Bars

News broke on Thursday that Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat inked an agreement with Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman in April to allow up to 70 detainees at the troubled Fulton County Jail to be relocated to the nearby county, with the agreement reportedly citing Fulton County’s 149,200-case backlog.

Reports indicated Labat planned to send some of the inmates in Fulton County to other jails earlier this year, but Appen Media Group published details about the agreement struck with Forsyth County for the first time on Thursday.

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Fulton County Jail Overcrowding Costly to Taxpayers

The Center Square

Overcrowding at the Fulton County jail costs taxpayers millions of dollars on top of making for a dangerous environment.

“There’s a fiscal impact of the overcrowding,” Amelia Joiner, chief counsel to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, told the Fulton County Jail Subcommittee. “It’s caused an increase in medical costs, food costs; we’ve had to contract and hire supplemental security. Our staff has to spend more of their off time supporting the jail and making sure that it is as safe as we can have it.”

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