FULTON COUNTY, GA — The head of Fulton County Government has proposed a plan to commissioners this week aimed at fixing long-standing problems at the Fulton County Jail.

The proposal includes building a new 3,200-bed special-purpose facility dedicated to mental and medical health needs, while also renovating troubled jail.

Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said there was no appetite among commissioners for a new jail that would cost more than $2 billion.

“This plan for the future of the jail prioritizes the needs of the detainees who need the most care,” said Pitts. “It also mitigates the financial impact on taxpayers compared to building a new jail.”

Last week, metro Atlanta advocates urged the city of Atlanta to draft a plan to move Fulton County inmates currently housed at the city’s detention center. The city had initially allowed Fulton County to house 700 inmates to alleviate overcrowding at the troubled Rice Street Jail.

In December 2024, the Fulton County Jail became the subject of a class-action lawsuit following reports of violence, murders, and even bed bugs. That same year, Fulton County commissioners voted 4-3 to allocate up to $300 million for jail renovations.

Concerns about the jail have drawn federal attention. In July 2023, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into jail conditions, citing violence, filthy living quarters, and the in-custody death of a man whose body was found covered in bed bugs. The investigation concluded that jail officials failed to protect detainees from violence, used excessive force, and held inmates in “unconstitutional and illegal conditions.”

Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners approved more than $5 million in funding for emergency improvements to the jail.

Pitts says the $1.1 billion plan is designed to meet safety conditions mandated by a federal monitor.