Georgia Republicans launch new investigation into 'deplorable' Fulton Jail conditions

Republicans in the Georgia state legislature announced a new investigation into the conditions at the Fulton County Jail. The U.S. Department of Justice has a separate probe underway. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Georgia state Sen. John Albers and fellow Republicans will take a deep dive into what Albers calls “deplorable” conditions at the Fulton County Jail beginning this November — a separate probe from the U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

Ten inmates have died at the jail this year.

Albers, who chairs the Georgia Senate’s Public Safety Committee, tells WABE’s “Morning Edition” he’s confident the hearings will get to the root causes and provide solutions to the jail’s overcrowded and dilapidated conditions. Sen. Randy Robertson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones also announced the investigation with Albers.



The probe comes as state Republicans have been critical of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, and claim her indictment of former president Donald Trump and 18 others for alleged election interference is a misuse of public resources — resources that could otherwise go towards remediating problems that have chronically plagued the jail.

Jones has been one of the most critical, calling her investigation a “political vendetta of the past.”