ATLANTA — On Aug. 31, a detention officer at the Fulton County Jail found Shawndre Delmore unresponsive in his cell.
He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment, but medical staff were unable to revive him.
The 24-year-old was declared dead three days later.
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Five inmates have died at the county jail in less than a month, prompting a community response and a more urgent call for answers.
“We need complete transparency,” Attorney Mawuli Davis said.
Davis represents Delmore’s family and the families of three other inmates who have died at the jail in the past two years.
Before he died, Delmore was awaiting trial for a burglary charge. He remained in jail because he could not afford the $2,500 bond.
“There is no way they could be taking it as seriously as they should because it is still open and functioning the way it is,” Davis said.
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The number of inmate deaths grew to 10, with the most recent five deaths happening over the course of just 25 days, from Aug. 10 to Sept. 3.
“We have a crisis and emergency situation in the Fulton County Jail,” says Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners Robb Pitts.
Pitts said the jail is overcrowded. He says there are too many inmates in jail, that have not been indicted.
“Those justice partners, all of them together, are not doing what they should be doing,” Pitts said.
Pitts said to help fix the problem of overcrowding, the Sheriff is looking at other facilities to transfer some inmates to.
He said the sheriff’s office is looking outside of the metro area, going so far as to consider transferring inmates to the Tallahatchie County Correctional facility in Mississippi.
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“Theoretically, it means that the sheriff should be able to, should be able to, handle the smaller population much better and reduce the number of deaths,” Pitts said.
“The recent outbreak of violence at the Fulton County Jail is of grave concern but unfortunately is not surprising considering the long-standing, dangerous overcrowding and the crumbling walls of the facility,” Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said in a statement. “To mitigate the violence and overcrowding, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is in constant negotiations with other detention facilities, including facilities out of state, to outsource inmates.”
The sheriff said Mr. Delmore’s death is still under investigation, and an autopsy is pending.
A timeline of inmate deaths at Fulton County Jail in 2023 can be viewed below:
- Harrell, Cornell - 2/8/2023
- Jackson, Yavin - 3/18/2023
- Jackson, Jeffery - 4/14/2023
- Battiste-Kosoko, Noni - 7/11/2023
- Stinson, Montay - 7/31/2023
- Smith, Christopher - 8/10/2023
- Hawkins, Alexander - 8/17/2023
- Lawrence, Samuel - 8/26/2023
- Blake, Dayvion - 8/31/2023
- Delmore, Shawndre - 9/3/2023
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