Atlanta and Fulton County officials on Monday took a major step toward reducing local arrests with the launch of a facility intended to serve people experiencing behavioral and mental health issues. The Center for Diversion and Services is a rehabilitative hub open around the clock, seven days a week, where law-enforcement officers and community response […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCourts, Mental Health, Reproductive Health
Georgia Is One of the Most Unsafe States to Give Birth. Abortion Limits Make It Worse.
In spite of recent reporting that directly links Georgia’s abortion restriction with the deaths of two Black women, the state Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to temporarily reinstate the law while an appeal is in progress did not surprise leaders at the forefront of the state’s reproductive justice movement. Last month, ProPublica reported on […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Two Months Later, Family of Man Fatally Shot by Off-Duty APD Officer Is Searching for Answers
Two months have passed since Devon Anderson, 38, was killed by off-duty Atlanta police officer Melvin Potter, yet the victim’s family has had barely any communication from law enforcement authorities regarding the status of the investigation, according to his mother. Potter, who is still employed by the Atlanta Police Department, has been relieved of duty […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Atlanta Public Safety Groups to Join First Crime Survivors March on Washington
A near-death experience helped Aswad Thomas understand the connection between those who enact violence and their victims — and the many ways America is failing both. “There’s this false dichotomy that victims and quote-unquote perpetrators are different. No, we’re often in the same household,” Thomas said earlier this month, during a southwest Atlanta event for […]
Posted inCity Politics, Cop City
Activists Protest ‘Cop City’ by Dropping Thousands of Balls During City Council Meeting
Atlanta residents opposed to the public safety training center being built in South River Forest — known as “Cop City” — protested its construction by dropping 116,000 ping pong balls during a City Council meeting on Monday. Each ball was meant to symbolize one signature that organizers said they gathered for a petition to hold a ballot […]
Posted inCourts, Politics & Policy
Fani Willis Refuses to Testify in Front of Senate Committee Investigating Her
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied a subpoena to turn over documents and testify in front of the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations Friday morning. Last week, Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, filed an appeal in Fulton County Superior Court asking for an injunction to block the subpoena. A ruling wasn’t […]
Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy
Mayor Dickens Proposes $60 Million to Combat Homelessness
Mayor Andre Dickens’ proposal to invest $60 million into affordable housing seeks to address Atlanta’s ongoing housing crisis by building 700 new affordable units by the end of 2025. “This would be the single largest investment in homelessness in Atlanta’s history,” Dickens said Tuesday at a Woodruff Park press conference. Despite average rent prices declining […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Project 2025: How a Conservative Justice Department Could Affect Georgia
Former President Donald Trump doesn’t hide his desire for revenge against prosecutors he considers his political enemies for bringing criminal charges against him. But how could a reelected Trump use the legal system against those perceived enemies? Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s policy agenda for the next Republican presidency, provides a road map — […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
‘Cop City’ Judge Calls Mishandled Evidence by State AG ‘Gross Negligence’
Prosecutors from the state attorney general’s office got a tongue-lashing from Fulton Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams on Wednesday for saying it was a mistake that they mishandled privileged attorney-client emails that were collected as evidence in the case against activists opposed to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Kamala Harris’ ‘Top Cop’ Legacy Is Complicated
Five years ago, when Kamala Harris was running for president, she labeled herself the “top cop” and “progressive prosecutor” that was “tough on crime.” With that came backlash from some criminal justice reform advocates and even those in law enforcement. In 2024, it’s unclear where she stands ideologically as vice president. Yet in her first […]