In Fulton County, bail fund organizers are on the front lines in the fight to prevent the further expansion of pretrial detention in the face of federal and state intervention. The Bail Project, a national organization that currently works in 11 jurisdictions across the country, posts bail for 20 to 40 people in Fulton County […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
How To Find Out If Your Driver’s License Has Been Suspended in Atlanta
Hundreds of people in Atlanta and Fulton County are arrested for driving while their license is suspended or revoked every year. Despite a first offense being considered a misdemeanor, a conviction can lead to hundreds of dollars in fines and between two days and 12 months in jail. “As always and you see this historically, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
With Federal Troops Poised to Enter Chicago, Atlanta Leaders Tell Trump Their City Is ‘Safe’
With the Trump administration threatening to send National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, and the announcement Monday that 100 troops would be deployed to Chicago, Atlanta leaders are reportedly working behind the scenes to send a clear message to Washington. Mayor Andre Dickens said he’s been in communication with administration officials letting them know Atlanta […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, History
The 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre Stole Black Lives Where Downtown Condos Now Stand
I hold your stories. I am Georgia’s red clay and black land. The silence that speaks beneath the roar of trains and traffic. I am a record. You call me soil, but I am memory. I remember how Black life rose after slavery’s end. How men and women carved businesses into my streets, lifted schools […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Atlanta Lawyers Work to Get Unlawfully Deported Black Immigrants Returned to the U.S.
The Trump administration’s mass deportation plan continues to cause anxiety throughout Atlanta’s Black immigrant community — even among those who have legal status. “The fear is real,” said Nnamdi Ihenacho, founder of the Atlanta-based nonprofit African Immigrant Collective. “Even people who have their papers are still worried about, ‘can my citizenship be revoked?’ ‘Can my […]
Posted inIncarceration
Seventh Person to Die in Custody at DeKalb County Jail Raises Alarm
A 27-year-old Decatur man is the seventh person to die in custody at DeKalb County Jail this year. Larynz Redd was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. The jail’s health care provider and DeKalb EMS unsuccessfully performed emergency medical services on-site. With seven deaths, the DeKalb […]
Posted inCourts
Fani Willis Responds to Being Removed From Trump RICO Case
When Capital B Atlanta spoke with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in August, she strongly objected to the criticism that her case against President Donald Trump for alleged election interference was expensive and unsuccessful. “That’s incorrect, that they didn’t yield the results. The case against President Trump is ongoing, and it’s in the [Georgia] […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
A Rare Look Inside Fulton County’s Crumbling Jail with Sheriff Labat
As you step off the elevators in Fulton County’s main jail, you hear the building’s quiet hum and maybe a few voices echoing in the distance. Incarcerated people, wearing gray jumpsuits labeled FCSO and bright orange plastic slippers, who are in the halls cleaning or being escorted to another part of the facility, are made […]
Posted inHigher Education, Public Safety
HBCUs Were on Lockdown After Terrorist Threats
Several Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country were on lockdown Thursday after a series of “terrorist threats.” Early Thursday morning, Hampton University and Virginia State University said they received terrorist threats. Later, the list grew as Alabama State University, Clark Atlanta University, Southern University in Louisiana, and Bethune-Cookman in Florida reported threats. Spelman […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
She Nearly Died in a Domestic Violence Attack. Illinois Denied Her Victim Compensation.
Yolanda Carter was once an avid line dancer known for her smooth two-step. More than nine years ago, a domestic violence attack not only forced her to walk away from her beloved dance group, but it changed her life forever. It was around midnight on March 22, 2016, when Carter went to bed next to […]