Judicial elections are just around the corner, but do you know who you’re being asked to vote for and what their duties are? Nonpartisan judges at all three levels of Georgia’s court system are up for election during the May 21 primary. Voters will be asked to decide who will wield power in this very […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Ahmaud Arbery’s Family Hopeful Hate Crime Convictions Won’t Be Overturned
Ahmaud Arbery’s family and their attorneys told the media they were optimistic after a hearing in federal court to appeal the hate crime convictions against the three white men who killed Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, in a south Georgia neighborhood in 2020. Arbery’s family and attorney attended an appeal hearing in federal court in […]
Posted inCourts, Politics & Policy
Nathan Wade Resigns as Special Prosecutor in Trump Election Case After Court Ruling
Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor hired by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, has resigned from his position, effective immediately, after a judge ruled either he or Willis had to step away from the case. Late last year, one of the defendants, Michael Roman, filed a […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Politics & Policy
Fulton County Commissioners Freeze Additional Funding to Sheriff’s Office
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners last week paused the reauthorization of double-overtime pay for detention officers and sheriff’s deputies over questions about how the money is being spent. Federal law requires that Fulton County Sheriff’s Office employees are paid time-and-a-half for overtime hours. Sheriff Patrick Labat, who was elected in 2020, has made efforts […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
What Rolling Back Bail Reform Could Mean for Black Atlanta
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 […]
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 […]
