Sen. Ossoff Statement on U.S. Department of Justice’s Fulton County Jail Investigation

Last spring, Sen. Ossoff pressed the U.S. DOJ to investigate human & civil rights concerns in local prisons and jails, citing Fulton County Jail conditions

Sen. Ossoff has spearheaded Congressional oversight into local, State, & Federal prison conditions

Atlanta, Ga. - On April 19, 2023, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate abuse in local jails, citing reports of abuse the Fulton County Jail. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report finding that conditions the Fulton County Jail violate constitutional rights.

In response to the DOJ's report, Sen. Ossoff released the following statement.

"Today's Justice Department report confirms that abuse at the Fulton County Jail has been not just horrific, but also unconstitutional.

"Each day these conditions persist is a failure to uphold Georgians' human and Constitutional rights."

Earlier this year, Sen. Ossoff, alongside Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock and Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), urged the DOJ to prioritize its investigation into the Fulton County Jail.

In June, Sens. Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock launched an inquiry with Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen policies aimed at tracking and collecting data about deaths in Federal, state, and local custody in order to better understand and mitigate risks inmates face while incarcerated.

In September 2023, Sen. Ossoff urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to open a civil rights investigation into the Clayton County Jail, pointing to extensive local reporting alleging serious human rights violations and dangerous conditions inside the facility.

In 2022, Sen. Ossoff led a 10-month bipartisan investigation that uncovered the DOJ failed to count nearly 1,000 deaths in state and local custody in 2021 alone.

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