Family demands accountability after Noni Battiste-Kosoko death in Atlanta jail

From left to right: Noni Battiste-Kosoko and, her mother, Shashu Battiste. On Friday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Battiste talks with show host Rose Scott about the lack of answers regarding her daughter’s death at the Atlanta City Detention Center. (Photos courtesy of Shashu Battiste & Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Smart and talented are words that Shashu Battiste uses to describe her daughter, Noni Battiste-Kosoko. Battiste says her daughter wanted to dance and make music and spent a lot of time writing.

Battiste says her daughter had some mental health challenges, but she was not a criminal.

Noni was arrested earlier this year and spent 53 days in jail at the Atlanta City Detention Center for not showing up to court on a misdemeanor charge. On July 11, 2023, she was reportedly found unresponsive in her cell – six days after her 19th birthday.