Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat is still failing to document the proper treatment of women with serious mental illnesses incarcerated in Fulton County, as is required by a 2022 settlement. The agreement was the result of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 by the Georgia Advocacy Office, the Southern Center for Human Rights and Caplan […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Atlanta Protesters Rally Against Kemp’s National Guard Order Supporting ICE
Dozens of Atlantans protested outside the state capitol Thursday evening in response to Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to mobilize the state’s National Guard in support of President Donald Trump’s federal immigration crackdown. According to the governor’s order, shared with Capital B Atlanta via email earlier this week, approximately 75 Georgia National Guard soldiers and airmen […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Communities Over Cages: Coalition Calls on Atlanta to End Jail Lease
As the final year of Fulton County’s four-year lease for use of the Atlanta City Detention Center approaches, a group of local and national criminal justice advocacy groups is calling on the Atlanta City Council to support a resolution to begin planning how the county will remove its 435 inmates from the facility. The coalition […]
Posted inUncategorized
CDC Shooting Is Top of Mind at Gun Violence Rally in Atlanta
The event, that was already planned, took on additional significance after a shooting where the responding police officer and suspect both died.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
FBI Charges Georgia Sheriff in Fatal Shooting of Black Man Freed by Innocence Project
Buck William Aldridge, the sergeant with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office accused of turning a routine traffic stop in 2023 into a deadly altercation that killed 53-year-old Leonard Cure, has been indicted on civil rights violations by a federal grand jury. Just three years before he was killed, Cure, a client of the Innocence Project […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Policing
Fani Willis Defends Her Record on Police Brutality Cases
Last week, as we conducted our interview with District Attorney Fani Willis, three grieving families were awaiting news from her office related to their loved ones’ deaths at the hands of Atlanta police officers. This week, the family of Deacon Johnny Hollman finally got their answer: A Fulton County grand jury has declined to bring […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
Fani Willis Calls Commissioners ‘Liars’ in Jail Funds Fight
As you walk into District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, housed on the third floor of Fulton County Courthouse, you’re greeted by a Malcolm X quote posted along the hallway. “I’m for truth no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.” But she’s faced several tests on her ability […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Garrett Rolfe, Who Shot Rayshard Brooks in 2020, Is Charged in a Bar Fight
Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe — who first made headlines in 2020 when he shot and killed Rayshard Brooks — is now being charged with simple battery after a violent altercation with an employee at X Midtown club last month. In a 911 call released a few days after the incident in June, club employee […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Atlanta Mass Shooting Highlights Need for More Violence Intervention Work
A mass shooting on Edgewood Avenue early Monday morning left Atlanta reeling and increased calls for more violence intervention work from grassroots organizations working in schools and neighborhoods across the city. At 1:27 a.m. Monday, Atlanta police received reports that multiple people were shot near the Edgewood at Hilliard streetcar station in Sweet Auburn, according […]
Posted inCourts, Policing, Public Safety
DA Doesn’t Appeal Judge’s Decision to Drop Charges Against Cop Who Killed Jimmy Atchison
An Atlanta father isn’t giving up after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not appeal a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss the charges against the police officer who killed his son. Jimmy Hill said he is disappointed, but not surprised by the decision. On Jan. 22, 2019, Hill’s 21-year-old son, Jimmy Atchison, was shot […]