A second inmate has died in Atlanta's Fulton County Jail in the past seven days, according to the county's sheriff's office.
The jail was characterized as "deadly" in a headline in Atlanta magazine in July 2023. Twenty-eight deaths have occurred at the jail since 2022, including the most recent one, according to Chamian Cruz, a criminal justice reporter at Atlanta's WABE, an NPR station.
The jail's name may sound familiar because it is where Donald Trump was booked after his indictment on charges of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election win in Georgia. Trump, the GOP's presumptive nominee for president, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and says the case is politically motivated.
The communications director at the sheriff's office, Natalie Ammons, told Newsweek on Wednesday: "I can confirm an inmate death this morning," later identifying the inmate as Travis Landrey, 20, who was booked in November 2023 for murder, possession of firearm or knife during commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, and hijacking a motor vehicle, among other charges.
Also on Wednesday, Ammons told Newsweek that when the inmate was found unresponsive in his cell, "lifesaving measures were performed by jail and medical staff but were unsuccessful and the inmate was pronounced deceased."
Ammons said the preliminary cause of death is suicide.
"The Atlanta Police Department is conducting an investigation, and the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy," she said. "The identity of the inmate is pending next of kin notification."
Cruz, who initially broke the news of the inmate's death, said on X (formerly Twitter) that this is the third reported death at the jail this year.
Fulton County Jail inmate Leonard Fortner, 37, died last Thursday evening after he was allegedly stabbed multiple times by fellow inmate Edward Cherry, 36, according to The Associated Press, which cited the sheriff's office. The stabbing occurred just before 6:30 p.m. local time in the day room of the housing zone where both men lived.
Cherry had been in jail since April 2020, held without bond on several charges, including aggravated assault and kidnapping. Meanwhile, Fortner had been an inmate at the jail since this past January and was being held without bond on a charge of criminal damage to property.
Since the stabbing, Cherry faces charges of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, the AP said, citing the sheriff's office.
In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into conditions at the Fulton County Jail, specifically pointing to violence, filthy conditions and the death of a man whose body was found covered in insects in September 2022.
"People in prisons and jails are entitled to basic protections of their civil rights," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement at the time.
"We launched this investigation into the Fulton County Jail based on serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions at the jail, excessive force and violence within the jail, discrimination against incarcerated individuals with mental health issues, and failure to provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals," he said.
"During this comprehensive review of the conditions of confinement at the Fulton County Jail, the Justice Department will determine whether systemic violations of federal laws exist, and if so, how to correct them," Garland said.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat previously said that he is prepared to fully cooperate with the investigation and hopes that it will lead to confirmation that a new jail is needed.
Labat said in a statement that he has "publicly, privately, and repeatedly raised concerns about the dangerous overcrowding, dilapidated infrastructure and critical staffing shortages at the jail."
Update 4/10/24, 2:37 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional comments from Natalie Ammons, communications director at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
Update 4/10/24, 5:08 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional comments from Natalie Ammons, communications director at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
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