Over the course of the past couple of years there have been multiple inmate deaths in Fulton County Jail. From circumstance of malnutrition to epileptic seizures, conditions are so horrid, the jail is so overcrowded & there have been so many deaths in the jail that the DOJ launched an investigation & released a  60 page report on the inhumane and unconstitutional conditions in the county jail. The report highlights inadequate protection from harm, excessive use of force by correctional officers, environmental and health hazards and numerous other human rights & constitutional violations. Many of those who are incarcerated inside the jail have not been formally charged and are in pre trial detention. They are subjected to such conditions because of the cash bail system. Cash bail is an unfair system that punishes poor people & disproportionately affects Black and brown communities. Being held in incarceration solely for lack of money is a modern day version of debtors prison. Ending cash bail in Fulton County is a necessary step forward in ending the current state of affairs in the jail and preventing even more deaths. 

↓Resolution↓

WHEREAS, Fulton County, GA, seeks to ensure that no person accused of a crime shall be held in custody simply because of their economic status; and
WHEREAS, the authority to manage bail is delegated to the Fulton County Sheriff and the Fulton County judicial courts by the Georgia General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that the rate at which persons return for future hearings is the same or similar, for persons who are released on their own recognizance versus persons who must pay a monetary bail to be released, showing that the monetary bail system is not effective; and
WHEREAS, many people fail to appear after paying cash bail simply because of a lack of transportation, a lack of support, and/or a lack of other resources, not because of any attempt to flee the jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, pretrial detention can lead to a loss of employment, a loss of housing, and/or a loss of child custody, because pretrial detention prevents people from tending to daily living obligations like working and/or paying bills and/or caring for children; and
WHEREAS, people of color are more likely to be victimized by a monetary bail requirement, because the poverty rate is much higher for such minority populations than it is for other populations; and
WHEREAS, many pretrial detainees are likely to plead guilty and/or accept a harsher penalty, because pretrial detention hinders their ability to meet and consult with their attorneys, to gather their evidence, and to formulate a defense in their case; and
WHEREAS, the Justice Department recently found that the conditions at the Fulton County Jail violate the Constitution of the United States and applicable Federal Law; and
WHEREAS, at least 50 pretrial detainees have died while in custody at the Fulton County Jail over the last 4 years, due to the severe overcrowding, with causes of death ranging from improper healthcare services to violence within the cells; and
WHEREAS, certain counties in Georgia have previously reformed their monetary bail systems, to combat inequality, albeit with a large degree of inconsistency in their chosen methods and applications of such reformation policies. 
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Fulton County Commissioners, alongside the residents of Fulton County and the greater City of Atlanta, shall call for the elimination of monetary bail and monetary fees; and
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Fulton County Commissioners shall call for the purposes of monetary bail to be satisfied through more appropriate means, such as home incarceration, to allow criminal defendants the opportunity to work, to attend medical appointments and religious ceremonies, to care for children, and to contribute to their defense in a more meaningful manner; and 
FURTHERMORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Fulton County Commissioners shall call for the creation of certain oversight boards in Fulton County, to be tasked with collecting quarterly data regarding: (1) pretrial release and detention rates, (2) electronic monitoring release, (3) demographics for pretrial detention and electronic monitoring groups, (4) failures to appear, and (5) re-arrest rates for those granted pretrial release; and
FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED, that the language within this resolution be codified into Fulton County ordinance, pursuant to Article IV, Section 46-200 to Section 46-202.