ACLU Raises Alarm Over Cobb Jail Conditions
"As noted by the U.S. Supreme Court, 'prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution,'" said Kosha Tucker, staff attorney of the ACLU of Georgia.
November 19, 2019 at 11:29 AM
2 minute read
(File photo)
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia has raised questions about conditions in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, saying the jail has been on "lockdown" with people confined to cells nearly all the time for months.
ACLU Georgia sent an open records request Tuesday to investigate allegations that those confined have been denied visits and phone calls with loved ones and kept in "solitary confinement-like conditions."
"As noted by the U.S. Supreme Court, 'prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution,'" said Kosha Tucker, staff attorney of the ACLU of Georgia, in a news release Tuesday. "The Cobb County Sheriff's Office must provide meaningful transparency and rectify any unconstitutional or unlawful conditions in this situation."
The ACLU said the Cobb Detention Center has been "on lockdown since September with allegations that incarcerated people are confined to their cells for almost 24 hours a day. The only break from this 24-hour confinement appears to be for 15-minute showers on some days." The group also said "additional allegations include the jail failing to permit visitation with family, delaying access to all mail and preventing personal phone calls with loved ones.
"These solitary confinement-like conditions, if true, potentially violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Mail and visitation are also constitutionally protected rights for people who are incarcerated," the ACLU statement said.
Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren did not have an immediate response to a request for comment. His media relations officer said he was not familiar with the allegations.
The open records request posted on the ACLU Georgia website asked for information related to current policies, procedures and guidelines regarding supervision of incarcerated people, use of Tasers or stun guns, mental health and medical care, grievances alleging abuse, reports of assaults, log books, inspection reports and emails, and other communications about a lockdown. The request sought information from from Sept. 1 to the present.
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