After coming under fire for not securing any murder convictions in the YSL RICO case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis stood her ground on the overall effectiveness of her team on Thursday. “Crime is down,” Willis said during an interview with 11Alive in the lobby of Atlanta City Hall. “What my constituents say, who […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Overcrowded, Understaffed and Unsafe: One Woman’s Night in Atlanta’s City Jail
Dominique Grant said she was in the middle of a mental health crisis when she was pulled over driving on Moreland Avenue by a Georgia State Trooper the Friday before Mother’s Day. Arrested under suspicion of DUI, the 32-year-old mother was booked into the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) around 11 p.m. that night. Grant […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
State NAACP Calls for Appeal in Fatal Atlanta Police Shooting After Judge Drops Charges
Jimmy Hill is determined to continue his fight for justice after a federal judge decided Tuesday to drop the charges against retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim, who shot and killed his son Jimmy Atchison in 2019. “Change ain’t going to come if we sit back and wait on others,” Hill told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inIncarceration
Two Deaths at Fulton Jail Raise More Questions about Safety and Oversight
Last fall, the Department of Justice released a scathing 97-page report detailing the constitutional and human rights violations that have led to in-custody deaths and abuses in the Fulton County jail. As a result, Fulton County entered into a consent decree earlier this year with the Justice Department to address the many staffing, overcrowding and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Larry Hoover’s Pardon Puts Spotlight on Atlanta’s Own Gangster Disciples History
The news of Larry Hoover’s pardon by President Donald Trump on Wednesday cast a shadow over Atlanta’s own history with the Gangster Disciples. For the past few years, Atlanta’s top elected officials and law enforcement officers have engaged in concerted efforts to combat gang violence and recruitment throughout the city. Their fight may have taken […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
After Fani Willis Drops YSL Murder Charge, Defendant Is Sentenced to 5 Years
One of three remaining YSL trial defendants was sentenced to five years in prison by a Fulton County Superior Court judge Wednesday afternoon. Damekion Garlington was originally facing life in prison if convicted on all charges — including murder and attempted murder — but he entered into an Alford plea with the district attorney’s office […]
Posted inEconomic Justice, Politics & Policy
Atlantans Protest Target on 5-Year Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death
To mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, hundreds gathered outside Target’s Conyers location at the behest of prominent local pastor Jamal Bryant. Bryant led protesters in a 9 minute and 29 second prayer, the same amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck, killing him in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, News
Twins’ Suspicious Deaths Ruled Suicide. Family Seeks Private Investigation.
A grieving Georgia family still has questions after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled the deaths of 19-year-old identical twins Qaadir and Naazir Lewis a double suicide on Wednesday after weeks of investigation. Hikers found the Lewis brothers’ bodies at the top of Bell Mountain in Hiawassee, Georgia, near the Tennessee border, on the morning […]
Posted inEducation
A 6-Year-Old Faced Slurs and Violence. Then She Got Punished.
A 6-year-old Black girl was called a monkey, the N-word, and physically assaulted by her classmates at Ashford Park Elementary School in DeKalb County, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed earlier this year. The lawsuit alleges an incident where she dodged a desk thrown at her by another student but was later given […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Why Black Parents Need to Talk to Their Kids About Guns
When TeKesia Shields founded Mother’s Against Gang Violence in 2016, it was a group for parents to learn how to recognize signs that their child might be involved in gang activity. The organization was born out of Shields’ desire to reflect on her own mistakes. In 2016, she found out her 17-year-old son was in […]
