Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is testifying today in front of a Georgia Senate committee regarding the conduct of her office during its investigation into phone calls President Donald Trump made asking Republican officials to overturn the 2020 election results. State lawmakers sought to subpoena Willis for more than a year to discuss her conduct […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inBlack Businesses
Shop Black in Atlanta: 2025 Holiday Gift Guide to Local Black-Owned Businesses
With Christmas and Kwanzaa right around the corner, it’s time to get started on those holiday shopping lists. In Georgia, 10% of all businesses are owned by people who identify as Black or African American, more than triple the nationwide average, according to Pew Research. It also found that 90% of Black-owned businesses operate in […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy, Reproductive Health
Students at Clark Atlanta Are Organizing to Save Black Mothers’ Lives
Georgia has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics: Black women are twice as likely to die from pregnancy than a white woman. Systemic barriers to health care access and social marginalization are just some of the reasons public health experts cite […]
Posted inCommunity, LGBTQ
Black Trans Leaders in Atlanta Create Safety and Support Amid Growing Attacks
Amid the current political climate where it has become even more difficult to be Black and trans in the South, the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative, known as SnapCo, are finding ways to carve out joy and normalcy for Atlanta’s community of queer people of color. Formed in 2013 out of an alliance between the Racial […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
He Bought Land to Build a Community Ranch. Then Fulton County Seized His Horses.
Ten years ago, Brandon “Brannu” Fulton bought 27 acres of land for $150,000 on the corner of Butner Road and Camp Creek Parkway in what was then unincorporated Fulton County. He wanted a space where he could spend his days in nature and ride horses. Fulton, 44, credits his grandfather with introducing him to horseback […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
2025 Atlanta Election Guide: Key Races and Candidates to Watch
As Election Day nears, local candidates are making their final push in what has been a monthslong campaign season. Data from the Georgia secretary of state’s office showed 13.4% voter turnout for all active registered voters and 12% turnout for Black voters during the early voting period, which ended Oct 31. This year, Capital B […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Off-Duty Police Officer Who Shot Atlanta Rapper Had Disciplinary History
Outside a Buckhead bar on the night of Oct. 11, Linton Blackwell was shot and killed by Gerald Walker, an off-duty Atlanta police officer. Since the shooting, Blackwell’s family and friends have been trying to piece together what happened the night the father of twin girls was killed and why the officer decided to use […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
How African Immigrants in Georgia Are Turning Solidarity Into Political Power
As attacks on immigrant communities continue to ramp up under the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, Nnamdi Ihenacho is determined to combat fear by empowering his fellow immigrants with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed in the United States. Since Ihenacho, a Nigerian immigrant, founded the African Immigrant (AIM) Collective last May, they […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
Slow Courts and Not Enough Public Defenders. What is Fulton County Doing?
For two years, during the height of the pandemic, Nikita Thomas sat in a Fulton County jail cell in Union City trying to stay hopeful that she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life in prison. “You tend to lose hope regardless of how much you pray,” Thomas told Capital B Atlanta. “You start to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
17 Shots: Witness Describes Shooting of Atlanta Rapper by Off-Duty Police Officer
Linton Blackwell, a 44-year-old father and local rapper who was killed earlier this month by an off-duty Atlanta police officer, had approximately 17 gunshot wounds, according to the autopsy report created by a Fulton County medical examiner. The report documented two bullet wounds in the right upper back, one in the buttocks and 14 in […]