The Fulton County Jail at 901 Rice Street is overcrowded and in need of immediate repair, that much is certain. What Fulton County officials should do to alleviate the problem remains unclear.

Commissioners pushed back Wednesday as Sheriff Patrick Labat sought to sell them on a plan to move hundreds of inmates to private prisons in Mississippi and southeast Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. They also disputed with county staff as to whether significant progress is being made in reducing the backlog of court cases contributing to jail overcrowding.

Commissioners Khadijah Abdur-Rahman and Natalie Hall stated their opposition to Labat’s plan. Commissioners Marvin Arrington Jr. and Dana Barrett echoed Chairman Robb Pitts’ suggestion to seek use of all 1,300 beds in the Atlanta City Detention Center. The county has contracted to use 700 of those beds but only about 400 are occupied, due in part to inadequate staffing and in part to restrictions on what kind of inmates can be sent there.

Ellis demanded more details, further in advance, provoking an angry response from Labat. Pitts tried to referee, and as the audience grew noisy he threatened to clear the commission chamber.

The proposed sites are the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Miss., operated by CoreCivic; and the D. Ray James Correctional Institution in Folkston, Ga. run by GEO Group. The Tallahatchie facility can hold more than 2,500 inmates while Folkston has just over 2,000 beds.

Sheriff’s office documents sent to commissioners say Labat wants to move 800 to 1,000 inmates. Amelia Joiner, general counsel for the sheriff’s office, said the Folkston facility could be ready to take 500 Fulton inmates in 30 days, and 1,000 within 60 days.

Placing inmates in Tallahatchie and Folkston won’t be cheap, Joiner said.

“It would be roughly $40 million per year,” she said. The proposed agreement is for two years, with renewal options allowing for a total of five years, Joiner said.

Moving Fulton inmates to Folkston would put them nearly 300 miles away, while Tallahatchie is about 400 miles.

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