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| Sheriff taking the rap for problem-plagued jail |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/09/2004 |
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The last straw for the problem-plagued Fulton County (Ga.) Jail came when an inmate escaped from a maximum-security wing while officers were serving as extras during the making of a rap music video. A federal judge is expected any day now to take away control of the jail from the sheriff and turn it over to someone else because of complaints that the place is overcrowded, understaffed and badly run. ''This is as bad as it gets,'' said Stephen Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. ''There are cells with toilets that don't work. There are people who are sleeping on floors of the jail -- floors that flood for various reasons.'' Bright filed a lawsuit on behalf of an inmate alleging that conditions at the jail amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Problems at the jail have been growing for years, but they drew more attention last month when an inmate escaped while rapper Clifford Harris, known as T.I., was allowed to use a cell, guards and inmates as props and extras for a music video. Ultimately, an internal investigation concluded there was no connection between the escape and the video shoot. Sheriff Jackie Barrett, for her part, said she had not authorized the making of the video, and she fired a jail supervisor. ''She has said she did not know anything about it. That says she does not have direct supervision,'' said Harry Ross, a political strategist. ''People are basically making decisions without her knowledge.'' There have been many other incidents, including a near-riot last August when deputies tried to turn off an Atlanta Falcons football game before it was over. |
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