Inmate found dead in cell at Fulton County Jail
(FOX 5)
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Another inmate has died at the Fulton County Jail - the fourth at the controversial jail this year.
Montay Stinson, 40, was found unresponsive in his cell at the main Fulton County Jail around 11:45 p.m. Monday, and jail and medical personnel were unable to revive him, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday. Stinson had no obvious signs of injury, and an autopsy will be done to determine cause and manner of death, the release said.
Stinson was arrested by the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department and was booked into the jail on Oct. 5 on a second-degree burglary charge. He had a bond set at $3,000, the release said.
The Justice Department’s civil rights division last month announced an investigation into jail conditions in Fulton County, citing violence, filthy conditions and the death of Lashawn Thompson, in 2022.
Photos of the cell and Thompson’s face and body covered in insects sparked outrage when they spread on social media in April after his family’s local attorney, Michael Harper, released them to the media. The medical examiner’s report lists Thompson’s cause of death as "undetermined" but notes a "severe bed bug infestation."
Jail records reportedly reveal that detention officers and medical staff at the jail noticed Thompson's deteriorating health but did nothing to help him, leading to his untimely death.
Following Thompson's death, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat accepted the resignations of three leaders at the jail. In a statement, the sheriff's office acknowledged the "dilapidated and rapidly eroding conditions" of the facility. The sheriff's office has also launched an internal investigation into Thompson's death and is reportedly addressing the sanitation and infestation problems at the facility.
19YO with mental health issues dies in jail
Noni Battiste-Kosoko, the 19-year-old inmate who died in the Fulton County Jail, reportedly suffered from mental health issues, according to her family. FOX 5 reached out to a former cellmate of the woman's who says the system failed her. Now, her family says they will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of what caused her to die alone in a cell.
The Justice Department's announcement came two days after 19-year-old Noni Battiste-Kosoko died in her cell in a part of the Atlanta city jail that is controlled by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the incident report obtained by FOX 5, no one knew Battiste-Kosoko was in trouble on July 11 until dinner rounds. An inmate worker said she was face-down and unresponsive when she gave her dinner, the report said. When the inmate worker flagged down a guard, the guards’ attempts to revive her proved unsuccessful, the report stated.
Speaking to FOX 5 on Aug. 1, one of Battiste-Kosoko's cellmates said it was clear her death could have been prevented because her mental illness was overlooked.
"The second she stepped into any jail, somebody should’ve been like, ‘She’s not supposed to be here,’" said the cellmate, who spoke with FOX 5 on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution in an active case. "It was clear she just needed somebody. When she sat to get her hair done, she was calm."
The cellmate said she would wake up to hear the teenager slamming her head against the cinderblock wall.
Officials say there have been four deaths in the Fulton County Jail in 2023 and one at the Atlanta City Detention Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.