ACLU of Georgia Sends Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Open Records Request Concerning Conditions at its Adult Detention Center

ATLANTA – Today, the ACLU of Georgia sent the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office an open records request regarding conditions at its Adult Detention Center. The 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.

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.

“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. “The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office must provide meaningful transparency and rectify any unconstitutional or unlawful conditions in this situation.”