Fulton County has asked a federal judge to terminate his supervision of the troubled Fulton County Jail even though a few critical issues in a consent order remain unresolved.
The “motion to terminate protective relieve” was filed late Friday.
And it was brief.
The county’s attorney did not offer Fulton’s reasons the jail should be allowed out of supervision but said the county was relying on previous filings and reports from U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob’s jail expert to support the request.
A federal lawsuit was filed in 2004 because the jail was dirty, dangerous and crowded. Consequently the jail has been operating under court supervision and a consent order since Feb. 6, 2006.
Since then, the county has spent millions of dollars on renovations and boarding inmates in other jails to so Fulton’s could stay below the court-ordered population cap of 2,500.
But two issues remain a problem — faulty locks on cell doors and staffing.
The court monitor continues to report each quarter that the jail is not adequately staffed and the unreliable, easily jimmied locks created dangerous conditions for inmates and staff.
The Fulton County Commission voted last month to spend $5 million to replace more than 1,300 substandard locks
The court monitor and the attorneys who filed the suit have said, however, they will not agree to end court supervision until staffing is sufficient and until all the locks have been installed and tested for several months.
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