When Nia Thomas was arrested in Bartow County on drug trafficking charges in October 2021, it came at the worst possible time. Georgia’s Pandemic-era eviction moratorium was just lifted and the 30-year-old mother of three at the time had just gotten an eviction notice on her door. After being denied bond, Thomas sat in the […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCop City
Atlanta Police Foundation Sued Over Unanswered ‘Cop City’ Records Requests
A lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court alleges that the Atlanta Police Foundation violated the Georgia Open Records Act by failing to respond to records requests related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which the foundation is contracted with the city to build. The Georgia Journalism and Access Project at the University of […]
Posted inHistory
Blazing The Trail: Atlanta’s Black Women Fire Chiefs
In a field where Black women are few and far between, metro Atlanta has had four Black women leading fire departments. While the boys’ club that has dominated firefighting certainly isn’t going anywhere, Black women are making their mark in the fire service. From East Point appointing the country’s first ever Black woman fire chief […]
Posted inSports
With HBCU Classic, Baseball Comes to ATL to Spark Black Interest
The Atlanta Braves will again be hosting a two-game series between two historically Black universities, a series the team hopes will bring attention to Black players in the sport. The Florida A&M University Rattlers and the Grambling State University Tigers will meet March 1 and 2 at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, home to the Gwinnett […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
Know Before You Vote: Duties of the Fulton County Sheriff
The Fulton County sheriff’s position is up for election this year in November. In a deep-blue county like Fulton, where President Joe Biden got more than 70% of votes in 2020, the race to watch this year may not be November’s general election, but instead the May 12 Democratic primary – for sheriff. The incumbent, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Are Police, Prisons, and Prosecutors the Only Option?
Across the country, Black people are policed, arrested, tried, and convicted at a rate that is disproportionate to our population. In Georgia, Black people are 60% of the state prison population but only 32% of the state’s overall population, according to a 2019 report published by the University of Georgia. This is almost the complete […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Federal Judge Rules Fulton Sheriff Did Not Comply With Court Settlement
A federal magistrate judge has ruled that Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat failed to comply with the requirements of a 2022 settlement agreement with some women incarcerated under his jurisdiction. Now both sides are waiting for an appeals court to determine what happens next. The agreement resulted from a 2019 class-action lawsuit filed on behalf […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
Pretrial Diversion: Ask Your Lawyer if You Qualify for Program to Dodge Trial
Whether you are paying for your own criminal defense lawyer or have been assigned a public defender, they will have to help you through the application process. Pretrial diversion programs redirect certain, usually first time, offenders away from the jailhouse and back into the community, often with community service as part of the requirements to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The YSL Trial Isn’t Over Yet, Here’s What You Missed
Although Atlanta’s trial of the decade (at least, that is, until court proceedings begin against a certain former president) kicked off in 2023, its biggest moments will come in the new year. That’s because 2024 is when rapper Young Thug, given name Jeffery Lamar Williams, and his co-defendants will get their opportunity to defend themselves […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
Inside One Black Mom’s Fight Against Expulsion in Fulton County
Back in January, Zaire Byrd, then a junior at Tri-Cities High School, got into a fight with a few other boys after school. Per the Fulton County Schools student code of conduct, all the boys received an automatic 10-day suspension pending investigation and disciplinary hearings. Following the disciplinary hearings, each of the boys was given […]