In old Western movies, breaking out of a jail cell sometimes involved a stick of dynamite. At the Fulton County Jail, all it takes is some soap, a comb or toilet paper.
A bit of this or that wedged in the right spot can prevent cell door locks from latching, though guards might be fooled into thinking they’re secure. When the coast is clear, inmates can slide open the doors and engage in whatever mischief comes to mind.
That fundamental lack of security is just one of the reasons Fulton is about to mark the 10th anniversary of a lawsuit over jail conditions. Persistent overcrowding, understaffing and other problems also have prolonged the litigation, which is costing taxpayers more than $200 million, including renovations, outsourcing inmates and other costs.
But a flurry of recent initiatives has given Fulton officials hope of finally ending the lawsuit and federal supervision of the Rice Street jail. They’ve sent hundreds of inmates to other jails, addressed staffing shortages, and agreed to replace those faulty locks.
U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash may decide this summer whether that’s enough to dismiss the lawsuit. Fulton officials say they have a strong case.
“It’s been a long haul, but I think it’s reasonable to hope we have this thing lifted sometime this year,” County Commission Chairman John Eaves said.
The jail’s critics disagree. They want to see Fulton run a fully staffed, secure jail for six months to a year before conceding its problems are fixed.
“We don’t want the investment of public funds to go to waste by having conditions deteriorate in the facility,” said Melanie Velez, an attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights.
The recent scurrying to fix the jail stems from a May 2004 lawsuit the Southern Center filed on inmates’ behalf. The lawsuit described a short-staffed facility where more than 3,300 inmates were crammed into space built for 2,250. Inmates and employees were assaulted. Basic plumbing, electric and ventilation systems had broken down. Inmates lived with the stench of raw sewage and slept on the floor.
In 2005 the Southern Center and the county agreed on dozens of improvements needed to address the jail’s problems, with the federal court monitoring progress. But that progress has been slow. It’s taken eight years to cross off most of the to-do list, and action on some of the biggest problems has begun only recently.
Facing a contempt of court charge, county commissioners agreed last summer to lease the Union City jail to house up to 285 female inmates. They recently leased space at nearby county jails to house other inmates. And they agreed to spend $3.5 million to address staffing shortages at the jail and other county departments.
Perhaps nothing will do as much to enhance security at the jail as replacing about 1,300 faulty locks.
Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Scott Farron demonstrated various ways to disable the locks on a recent tour of the facility. Many involve using soap, toilet paper or other debris to prevent the locks from, well, locking.
It’s a skill that someone with plenty of time on their hands can perfect — and one that Farron said inmates have taught one another for years.
Fulton is spending $4.8 million to replace those locks with sturdier, motorized models designed to thwart inmate meddling. They also come with lights indicating whether the door is really locked, so guards can’t be fooled.
“We put the worst inmates we had in there and asked them to try to get out,” said Col. Mark Adger, the chief jailer, pointing to a cell with the new lock. “We’ve had people cry because they couldn’t beat the device.”
Though the work won’t be done until July, the jail already has seen a reduction in assaults and other incidents. During a recent week there were 20 such incidents, compared with 50 during the same period last year.
A recent report by a court-appointed monitor confirms Fulton has made progress at the jail.
“No inmates assigned to cells with the new cell locks were able to compromise the locks and exit their cells,” the monitor reported.
Still, problems remain, most of them related to staffing shortages. The monitor found Fulton doesn’t have enough security officers to fully staff the jail. Inmates missed medical appointments two-thirds of the time last month because no officers were available to escort them.
The bottom line, according to the monitor: The jail “is still an unsafe facility for inmates and staff.”
Fulton officials say turnover among officers and the lag time in hiring and training new ones has slowed progress on jail staffing. But Adger hopes staffing will be adequate by July.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to ending the lawsuit has always been political. Elected county commissioners — mindful that money spent on the jail isn’t available to be spent on more popular public services — sometimes have been reluctant to pay for jail fixes. And they have a history of backsliding when the heat of court orders is off.
Given that history, the jail likely will face scrutiny long after the lawsuit formally ends.
“These are unpopular issues that require sustained attention,” the Southern Center’s Velez said. “It requires making the jail a priority year after year.”
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