A group of public defenders are urging county officials to reconsider a proposal to move inmates out of the overcrowded Fulton County Jail to facilities hundreds of miles away.
Under the proposal, up to 1,000 incarcerated individuals would be transferred to either the D. Ray James Correctional Facility in South Georgia or the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi.
But, Maurice Kenner, circuit public defender for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, said state law requires a sheriff with a jail that has become unsafe to relocate inmates in county jails nearby, adding that moving them across state lines would not only deprive them of their right to counsel, but it would place an undue burden on their families.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
