Fulton sheriff, jailers ignored illness until it was too late, suit says

The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said Smith’s death was caused by “sepsis due to peritonitis and indicates bowel ischemia and necrotizing peritonitis,” according to the lawsuit.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

“Despite exhibiting signs of serious illness and pain, Mr. Smith received no timely or adequate medical attention while in the custody of the jail,” the family said in the suit.

By the time Smith arrived at Grady Memorial Hospital on Aug. 10, 2023, he was septic and medical intervention could not help with his condition, according to the lawsuit.

The 34-year-old had been at the jail since October 2019, where he was held without bond on several felony and misdemeanor charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and third-degree cruelty to children, records show.

Smith’s death was among 10 in-custody deaths reported at the Fulton County Jail in 2023. The jail saw more than 60 deaths from 2009 to October 2022, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation — the highest total for any jail in Georgia during that time.

At least 33 deaths have been reported at the Rice Street facility January 2022 to July 2025. Four deaths have been reported this year.

Earlier this year, the parents of 37-year-old Leonard Fortner filed a lawsuit against Labat and Fulton County alleging officials failed to keep their son safe inside the troubled facility.

Fortner was stabbed 20 times with a weapon crafted from the jail’s crumbling walls. Fortner’s parents alleged their son was “fed to the wolves” when the HIV-positive and LGBTQ+ detainee was placed in the jail’s general population alongside inmates charged with violent crimes.

Last December, former YSL defendant Shannon Stillwell and inmate Nkenegen Hambrick filed a lawsuit against Labat and Chief Jailer John Jackson for allowing unsafe conditions in the Fulton County facility. Attorneys for the two filed the suit as class action, seeking to represent a large group of inmates they say have been exposed to the unlivable conditions in the jail.

Last month, Labat filed a lawsuit of his own, accusing the county’s board of commissioners of thwarting his efforts to buy essential items, including Narcan.

In January, Fulton County agreed to a consent decree aimed at resolving deplorable and unsafe conditions at the jail, which has been plagued by inmate deaths, violence and other issues for years.

The agreement requires the county and the sheriff’s office to address numerous problems outlined in a November report by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found conditions were “abhorrent, unconstitutional” and violated the Eighth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

An independent monitor was also appointed to keep track of the implementation of requirements, as per the agreement.

The DOJ launched its civil rights investigation in July 2023, citing the Sept. 13, 2022, death of Lashawn Thompson, who was found in his cell covered with bedbugs.