Sheriff Criticizes $1.1 Billion Construction, Renovation Plan for Fulton County Jail
Photo: The project has an estimated construction timeline of five years, and construction will be followed by a renovation of the failing Rice Street Jail. | Photo Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
By Lindsey Coulter
ATLANTA — On Aug. 20, Fulton County, Ga., Commissioners in a 4-1 vote approved a $1.1 billion plan to build a new facility on the Rice Street Jail site to house inmates experiencing medical and mental health issues. The project has an estimated construction timeline of five years, and construction will be followed by a renovation of the failing Rice Street Jail. The vote marked progress for the long-needed project, but the capital improvement plan drew swift criticism from Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat.
In a statement following the decision, Labat argued that the plan to address jail improvements in five years neglects urgently needed maintenance issues such as ongoing flooding and infrastructure failures. While Commission Chair Rob Pitts expressed concerns about the cost of a new jail, saying the current approach will save taxpayers money, Labat countered that the move would likely result in greater costs to taxpayers down the road in the form of lawsuits and inflated construction costs as well as increased risks to staff and inmate safety.
“Yesterday’s vote by four members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to spend a billion dollars to build a special-purpose facility is the equivalent to being in a burning building and voting to design a new fire station that will not open for five years,” Labat wrote. “The vote is a political game of smoke and mirrors that flies in the face of the federal consent decree.”
The overcrowded and dangerous Fulton County Rice Street Jail was originally designed and built for single bunking. The structure was completed in 1989 and was immediately converted to accommodate double bunks to house the growing inmate population.
In November 2024, a CRIPA Findings Report concluded that certain jail conditions violated incarcerated people’s constitutional and federal rights. In January, the Department of Justice issued a consent decree that aimed to reduce violence and use of excessive force, provide safe and sanitary living conditions, ensure appropriate medical and mental health care, reduce harm and discrimination in restrictive housing practices, and provide eligible 17-year-olds with access to special education services
“The failing infrastructure is a long-standing problem attributed to the demand put on a system far beyond its designed capacity, from the critically failing pipes that continuously burst and leak, a foundation that consistently floods when it rains, locks that do not work properly, to an outdated HVAC system that span across three federal consent decrees,” Labat added.
The approved plan will include developing facilities to house approximately 600 inmates with medical and mental healthcare needs, services that are currently lacking in the county’s existing facilities.
Commissioner Mo Ivory cast the sole vote against the new construction and future renovation plan based on funding concerns.