Fulton County Jail inmate hospitalized after being stabbed

ATLANTA - An inmate at the Fulton County Jail was stabbed and subsequently hospitalized. Authorities at the detention facility have identified the victim as Desean Durham; however, they have refrained from disclosing additional details surrounding the incident.

According to officials at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, inmate Durham was attacked earlier in the day on Friday, leading to his hospitalization. The sheriff's office, while confirming the stabbing, has maintained a tight-lipped stance on the specifics of the altercation.

Law enforcement and jail officials are anticipated to conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident to ascertain the events leading up to the stabbing and identify any parties involved. As of now, the motive behind the attack and the potential implications remain unknown.

Durham's condition as of Friday evening has not been released. 

Fulton County Jail's ongoing problems

Fulton County’s main jail, which opened in 1989 in a neighborhood west of downtown Atlanta, has been plagued by overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence. Several people have died in Fulton County custody in 2023.

Calls for change started ramping up after the death of inmate Lashawn Thompson, whose body was found covered in insects. An independent autopsy done at his family’s request found he died from severe neglect. His family has since reached a settlement with the county.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat says the jail’s walls are crumbling. Last year, Labat’s deputies wheeled wheelbarrows of shanks pulled from jail walls into a county commission meeting to show how decayed conditions and violence feed each other.

While the jail's population, and subsequently the violence, have decreased, it has not stopped a probe launched earlier this year by the U.S. Justice Department into the jail's conditions.

In recent months, Labat has campaigned to build a new jail, which could cost $1.7 billion or more. Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts has said he wants to seek other solutions, in part because such an expensive undertaking would probably require a tax increase on Fulton County’s million-plus residents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report