Fulton County gaining control of it’s jail following an 11-year legal battle will ultimately benefit taxpayers, says the county’s top elected official.
“Commissioners are free to fund the jail as we see fit,” said Fulton County Chairman John Eaves during a Friday morning press gathering sponsored by the Atlanta Asscociation of Black Journalists. “We have the flexibilty to use the money to fund the jail to mmeet our needs.”
A federal judge on Thursday returned to Fulton County complete control over its jail, ending an 11-year-old lawsuit that has cost taxpayers about $1 billion in renovations, repairs and ongoing programs.
Problems at the northwest Atlanta lockup were so daunting that federal oversight lasted about five times longer than it has in similar cases, the judge said, pointing out that such cases are usually closed after two years.
At one time, the jail was so overcrowded inmates slept on floors, so unsanitary that raw sewage flooded cells, so unsafe that inmates could wander about because of faulty locks. Conditions would improve and then deteriorate again.
But U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash finally determined on Thursday that the county had addressed the problems.
Eaves says the county will now assess staffing levels at the jail and will make reductions or additions based on need rather than have those decisions coming from the court.
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