Following the closure of the Atlanta City Detention Center, many were worried that nearby jails would face difficulties in absorbing extra inmates. It turns out those concerns were well-founded, as Fulton County Jail is now overcrowded by some 500 inmates, and is considering an injunction to prevent Atlanta from sending more. More than a third of the inmates in the jail are from Atlanta, and nearly 200 are being forced to sleep on floor mattresses in the jail’s common area. State and local officials continue to work on criminal justice reform, which is a good thing, but for the time being an overcrowded jail in Fulton has its ship DRIFTING…
Smyrna Pumps Brakes on Scooter Ban
The band Montrose famously sang, “Get on your bad motor scooter and ride!” But depending on how things shake out, some forms of motor scooting may become illegal in Smyrna, Georgia. That’s because the Smyrna city council has been tinkering with the idea of...No, Criminal Justice Reform in Georgia Isn’t Dead
In a memorable scene from the comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” a government official meanders through a plague-infested village screaming, “Bring out your dead!” — presumably for burial. This somber scene is interrupted when a villager tries to deliver...Rep. Harrell Introduces Death Penalty Repeal Bill
Georgia juries haven’t delivered a death sentence in nearly five years, and if Rep. Brett Harrell, R-Snellville, has his way, it never will again. That’s because he recently filed House Bill 702, which would repeal the Georgia death penalty and replace it with...Kennesaw, don’t be a buzzkill
Anything worth doing is worth taking your time to do, according to an old proverb. While there’s a kernel of truth to this platitude, the state of Georgia apparently took this advice to the extreme. Consider this: The United States ratified the 21st Amendment...
