AS FULTON WEIGHS $56.5 MILLION JAIL PURCHASE, AARON SAMPSON UNVEILS “FEWER INMATES. BETTER FACILITIES.” PLAN

District 4 candidate calls for fewer unnecessary jail stays, safer facilities, and stronger taxpayer oversight

ATLANTA — As Fulton County considers spending $56.5 million to purchase the Atlanta City Detention Center, Fulton County Commission District 4 candidate Aaron Sampson today released a plan to reduce overcrowding, improve jail conditions and bring greater accountability to jail spending.

Sampson’s plan, “Fewer Inmates. Better Facilities,” would steer eligible people accused of nonviolent offenses toward treatment and supervised alternatives instead of jail. It would also move cases through the courts faster, address safety concerns and require greater transparency for jail spending.

“The Fulton County Jail should protect the public—not endanger the people detained there or the officers who work there,” Sampson said. “Step one is to reduce overcrowding by directing eligible people with nonviolent charges, mental illness or substance-use disorders into treatment and supervision. That allows us to focus jail beds, officers and taxpayer dollars on people who truly present a danger.”

Five members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners recently offered $56.5 million to purchase the Atlanta City Detention Center. The offer expires August 31. County officials estimate the facility could require another $75 million in renovations.

Sampson said the County should evaluate the purchase as part of a larger strategy—not assume that adding more jail beds will solve the underlying problems.

His plan calls for Fulton County to:

• Expand diversion programs for eligible nonviolent cases involving mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness or extreme poverty.

• Screen people at jail intake for eligibility for treatment, accountability court participation, and supervised alternatives.

• Build on Project ORCA’s work to reduce court backlogs and unnecessary jail stays.

• Fix immediate staffing, medical, sanitation and safety failures while closely tracking the cost of new and renovated facilities.

“Before Fulton spends millions acquiring another detention center, taxpayers deserve to know the full cost of purchasing, renovating, staffing and operating it,” Sampson said. “The question is not simply how many beds Fulton can acquire. It is how many beds we actually need after we reduce unnecessary detention and get cases moving through the courts.”

Fulton County is operating under a federal consent decree after the U.S. Department of Justice identified dangerous and unconstitutional conditions at the jail. The county has also authorized up to $1.3 billion for a new special-purpose facility and renovations at Rice Street. That work could continue through 2035.

Sampson said the County cannot wait years to address broken locks, staffing shortages, inadequate medical care and unsanitary conditions.

“We do not need a five-star hotel,” Sampson said. “But we do need working locks, adequate staffing, timely medical care and sanitary conditions. People should not die because Fulton County failed to provide the basics. Fewer inmates and better facilities is the practical path to a safer Fulton County.”

Sampson’s full jail and diversion plan, along with his broader policy agenda for Fulton County, is available at ElectAaronSampson.com.

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