‘I Believed I Was Going To Die’: Federal Lawsuit Exposes Clayton County Jail COVID-19 Outbreaks

The Southern Center for Human Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia have filed a federal lawsuit against Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill.

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By the end of June, at least 102 inmates in the Clayton County Jail and more than a dozen staff members had contracted COVID-19. At least one person had died, according to health records filed in federal court by the jail’s medical contractor. 

In response to sworn testimony from inmates describing “unsanitary” conditions that only catalyzed coronavirus outbreaks in the jail, the Southern Center for Human Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia have filed a federal lawsuit against Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill.

The motion for a preliminary injunction asks a judge to intervene to prevent the further spread of the virus behind bars and pushes Hill to make a written plan in consultation with a public health expert.