One detainee was killed and at least two others were injured following multiple stabbings at Fulton County’s troubled Rice Street Jail, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
Few details were released, and agency spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said the scene is still active.
“I can confirm one dead, at least two injured,” she said in an email.
With the fatal stabbing, five Fulton County inmates have died in recent weeks, and the notoriously dangerous jail is under review by the U.S. Justice Department.
Between 2009 and October 2022, more than 60 Fulton detainees died, the highest total for any jail in Georgia during that time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found. Prior to Thursday’s stabbings, eight inmates in the custody of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office had died since the start of the year.
County officials this month reached a $4 million settlement with the family of Lashawn Thompson, a Fulton detainee who was discovered dead and covered in bugs nearly a year ago. Attorney Michael Harper, who represents Thompson’s family, displayed what he said were photos from the man’s cell during an April news conference.
“This is inexcusable and it is deplorable,” Harper said of the filthy conditions the photos show.
Fulton Sheriff Pat Labat has petitioned county commissioners for a new jail, saying the current detention center in northwest Atlanta has been persistently overcrowded since it opened in 1989. Building a new jail is expected to cost at least $1.7 billion.
“We should have had a new jail 15 years ago,” District Attorney Fani Willis said at a Thursday news conference announcing a string of recent arrests. “People deserve to be housed humanely, even when they’ve been accused of crimes.”
The fatal jail stabbing comes days after 19 defendants, including former President Donald Trump, were booked there after being accused of trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.
About the Author
