Second person in a week dies in Fulton jail that's under federal investigation

A 66-year-old man has died in the medical unit of a jail in Atlanta that’s currently under federal investigation, officials said Friday.

Alexander Hawkins was found unresponsive in a medical unit cell at the main Fulton County Jail just before 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. Medical personnel tried to revive him. He was the sixth person to die this year in Fulton County custody.

Hawkins was initially held in the Atlanta City Detention Center after his arrest on July 31. A municipal court hearing the following day called for his case to be transferred to Fulton County Superior Court. He was then booked into the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 5. He was being held on a shoplifting charge with a $5,000 bond.

Authorities said the county medical examiner’s office will do an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the conditions of the jail, citing Lashawn Thompson’s September 2022 death as one of dozens in the facility during the past few years. Thompson, 35, died in a bedbug-infested cell in the jail’s psychiatric wing.

The county reached a settlement with Thompson’s family earlier this month.