Judge Delays Hearing On Fulton County Jail Conditions
A federal judge has delayed a hearing scheduled to begin today on whether Fulton County is in violation of a consent order over conditions at the county jail. That’s after a human rights group and county officials earlier this week asked the judge to hold off.As heard on the radio
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Thrash agreed to delay the hearing to give the county more time to address issues with overcrowding and staffing at the jail.
Melanie Velez is with the Southern Center for Human Rights, which filed the initial suit. She said the county’s decision to approve $5.2 million in its budget to streamline hiring and move some inmates to other jails is promising.
“The county and the sheriff have taken serious and multiple positive steps to address the issues. The question is will it be enough,” Velez said.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
At issue was whether the county was meeting the standards set forth in a 2006 consent order.
Last month, the county board approved $2 million to rent 265 beds from other area jails in order to ease overcrowding. The board also ended a policy requiring the sheriff to pay out departing employees’ benefits before replacing them, and OK’d $3.2 million for outstanding benefits payments in hopes of speeding up hiring.
Chairman Eaves says the hearing’s delay is encouraging.
“I think we’ve addressed those two issues, and now it’s just a matter of time to satisfy those two remaining issues,” Eaves said.
Eaves said that as of Wednesday, an estimated 230 inmates are currently sleeping on temporary cots, partially due to the county’s $4.6 million effort to replace faulty locks on cell doors. Eaves said he hopes to begin transferring some inmates in the coming days.
The order will be held open until the end of July.
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