Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in to Georgia state authorities in the coming days, and it is likely he will remain in the custody of the state's criminal justice system for only a few hours. This special treatment is not afforded to other defendants in the state. Judicial authorities announced on August 16 that Trump and the 18 other defendants are expected to be booked at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta before being presented to the court, but they clarified that "circumstances may change."
The former president must surrender to state police by August 25 to face charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state. Fulton County Police Chief "Pat Labat" indicated that officials would follow "the usual procedures" in handling Trump, according to the BBC.
Here are the main facts about "Fulton" Jail:
- It was built in 1985 to house about 1,300 inmates.
- More than 3,000 people have been held in Fulton Jail in recent years.
- The unhealthy conditions prevalent in the jail have led to outbreaks of COVID-19 and scabies, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights in the United States.
- Hundreds of individuals remain in Fulton Jail for over three months before they are formally charged or if they cannot pay the required bail for their conditional release, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Inmates at Fulton suffer from severe malnutrition, with a condition known as wasting syndrome.
- The Fulton County Sheriff's Office itself has acknowledged that conditions in the jail are "dilapidated and deteriorating rapidly," and has called for the construction of a new jail costing $1.7 billion, according to the British network BBC.
