Fulton County Jail, where former President Donald Trump will be arraigned in the coming days, is infamous for suspects dying and being detained without trial for extended periods of time.
Trump will be booked at the Fulton County Jail by Aug. 25, where he will be fingerprinted and have a mugshot snapped in relation to the thirteen charges he faces from an indictment handed up Monday. The indictment charges Trump and eighteen of his associates with attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
A Sept. 2022 report published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that Fulton County Jail held 2,892 inmates, exceeding capacity by more than 300. Of those, 293 were unable to pay bail, 515 had been jailed for at least 90 days without an indictment and 242 were charged only with misdemeanors. “In total, the Fulton County Jail over-detained 728 people,” the report concluded.
(Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
The jail allegedly has “unhygienic living conditions” that have led to scabies, lice and COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR). Inmates are also “significantly malnourished” and many suffered from a condition called cachexia, also known as wasting syndrome, per the SCHR. (RELATED: Here’s What Would Really Happen With A Trump Mugshot)
Since 2022, at least 18 people have died at the jail, according to the ACLU.
Thirty-five-year-old Lashawn Thompson died in the jail’s psychiatric wing in September due to “severe neglect” from jail staff, according to BBC News. The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the jail conditions, including medical conditions and excessive use of force by officers.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has admitted that physical building housing the jail is “dilapidated and rapidly eroding” and has called for the construction of a new $1.7 billion jail, per BBC.
Trump will likely be handled differently at the arraignment. During his three arraignments in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C., he was fingerprinted and pleaded not guilty to all charges. His upcoming arraignment will likely be his first time he will have a mugshot taken.