FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a civil investigation into the Fulton County Jail.

The DOJ announced officials will be doing a comprehensive investigation of the living conditions, access to mental and physical healthcare, use of force and incidents that lead to violence against inmates. The DOJ will also investigate whether the jail discriminates against incarcerated people with physical and psychiatric disabilities.

The announcement comes after a homeless man with mental illness died inside the psychiatric unit of the jail last year.

LaShawn Thompson died after a severe bedbug infestation in September 2020.

The DOJ also cited the sheriff’s own pleas for help about the dilapidated conditions in the jail and the fact that inmates were sleeping on bedding on the floor and crafting shanks out of the crumbling infrastructure.

According to the DOJ, 87% of the jail is Black. “This is a racial justice issue,” Kristen Clarke with the Department of Justice said.

Stay with 95.5 WSB for the latest on this developing story.

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