The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton OKS $5M to process hundreds of murder suspects
District attorney says huge backlog of cases is endangering public.
Fulton County’s District Attorney made it simple for county commissioners Wednesday: Either appropriate millions of dollars to help her office process a couple hundred unindicted murder suspects, or watch some walk out of jail.
“It’s just math,” District Attorney Fani Willis told commissioners. “I need help. I’m here begging you for help. Dangerous people are going to get out. I don’t know how to make it more clear.”
Commissioners voted to give Willis an immediate $780,000 to hire 55 additional staff members — 15 lawyers, 15 senior investigators and 25 support staff. Those hires will cost taxpayers $5 million over the next year.
She told reporters after the meeting this was the biggest day for her office since she started her tenure in January.
have a lot of work to do,”
Willis said.
That’s an understatement. Fulton has 11,000 cases caught up in the county’s court backlog caused by COVID-19 shutdowns. The backlog is the worst in the state, which has 206,000 cases choking the system. County staff estimate it will cost $75 million to solve Fulton’s problem.
But the more immediate issue Wednesday was the 224 murder suspects who have not been indicted. Of those, 51 must be formally charged before Sept. 28 or they will be granted a bond.
The law requires Georgia courts to grant bond if the suspect hasn’t been indicted within 90 days of the arrest. The clock — stopped by the courts because of COVID-19 — is ticking again.
Willis told commissioners the stakes were high if she couldn’t get the money: “We don’t get to as many cases, we half do our job, we skip steps and we’re all in danger. I’m not supposed to say that, but that’s the truth.”
The 90-day limit also means rape and arson suspects, along with other people accused of violent crimes, could bond out of jail.
Willis had Mike Carlson, who is the head of her major crimes division, help plead her case to commissioners. Unlike Willis, Carlson is a Republican. Three of the seven Fulton commissioners belong to the GOP.
“It is clear that a lack of resources in our DA office has been a major (contributor) to crime,” he said.
Willis appeared before the board in July, when she and Sheriff Patrick Labat gave an impassioned plea for resources. And as she did in July, Willis said Wednesday she had been stymied trying to appear and ask the commissioners for money.
Commissioners Khadijah Abdur-rahman and Marvin Arrington Jr. apologized for the DA having to deal with that, saying Willis shouldn’t have to jump through hoops.
Commissioner Bob Ellis asked Willis questions about how she plans to use the funds. Past DAS have also asked for money, he said, “and, quite honestly, didn’t do a damn thing” with it.
Ellis and Robb Pitts, commission chair, were not recorded as having voted on the appropriation. The other five commissioners voted yes.
Willis said rising crime means finishing the backlog by 2023 is impossible.
“It is delusional if you think we’re going to get through all of these backlog cases by 2023,” she said.
And all of the problems are filtered through an overcrowded jail.
The pattern of “revolving door” offenders is a perennial issue in Atlanta. But now, Atlanta police are frustrated more than ever to repeatedly arrest the same violent offenders, Chief Rodney Bryant said Tuesday.
In some cases, the chief said APD’S fugitive squad spends weeks or months tracking down a suspect only to see them granted a relatively affordable bond and released within hours or days. Some of those suspects have lengthy criminal histories but are released from jail while facing aggravated assault charges or even murder, according to Bryant.
As if violent crime wasn’t serious enough on its own, the uptick is having massive ripples.
A group is pushing for Buckhead to become a city — a movement largely stemmed from residents’ concerns over crime, and frustration with the city for not taking stronger steps to address it.
A recent mayoral poll commissioned by The Atlanta Journal-constitution found 33% believe crime is the reason for the Buckhead cityhood movement.