FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — (Editor's note: This story was originally published on Nov. 14, 2023. 11Alive is airing an updated report on February 13, 2024.)
The idea that defendants are innocent until proven guilty is a cornerstone of the American justice system.
But in Atlanta, many defendants awaiting trial are held in a notorious jail known for its deteriorating conditions and violence.
Records uncovered by 11Alive show hundreds of them are held there for months--without formal charges-- waiting for prosecutors to move their cases forward.
To Rubin Gordon, that comes as no surprise. He spent almost two years inside the Fulton County jail system awaiting trial and saw the dangers firsthand.
"Everybody had knives," he said.
Like the bulk of the system's inmates, Gordon was housed at the Rice Street Jail, a building in such poor condition its walls are crumbling and inmates are using the pieces to make blades.
"Everyone had some type of weapon that they made with the materials from the Rice Street Jail," said Gordon.
Another inmate, Kenneth Perry Jr., corroborated it during public comments at a September Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting where Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat invited him to speak.
"The walls are crumbling down and inmates are creating shanks out of the walls," said Perry.
He considered himself "lucky" because he was transferred to a different facility and was still alive to tell the story.
"I had knives put to my throat," he said.
Dangerous conditions
Between January 2022 and September of this year, 23 inmates died in the Fulton County jail system, according to records obtained from the sheriff's office.
Most were treated as medical incidents, but a few were investigated as violent crime scenes. Over a similar time period, sheriff's office documents record nearly 400 stabbings.
It's a dangerous environment where more than a thousand inmates are housed without formal charges.
According to an October Fulton County government report, 1,059 inmates were behind bars still waiting to be indicted.
Data presented by Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis at a September meeting indicated more than 500 were waiting longer than 90 days. Sixty detainees had been waiting for over a year.
The consequences can be enormous.
"It is tragic," said Atlanta-based defense attorney Robert Rubin after reviewing the data.
An indictment is, effectively, the starting point of a criminal case, according to Rubin. It marks the beginning of the formal march towards a trial.
Without it, defendants in the Georgia legal system have few options.
"You can't get discovery before you're indicted. You can't file a speedy trial demand before you're indicted. You can't file other motions dismissing the case until you're indicted," said Rubin.
In short, he said, "you are in purgatory."
Stuck in legal 'purgatory'
The Fulton County detention system is a jail, not a prison, meaning the vast majority of inmates have not yet been convicted of the crime they're accused of.
Those who remain inside its walls are typically there either because their bond has been denied or, like Gordon, they can't afford to pay it.
He was booked in October of 2021 on a single second degree burglary charge, according to the Fulton County Jail's online database. His bond was listed at $200, but he couldn't pay it. Almost two years later, he was indicted on the burglary charge as well as a trespassing charge and a theft by taking charge.
He remained in Fulton County sheriff's office custody until September of this year, when his case was shifted to a pretrial diversion program. Upon successful completion, the program manager says Gordon's case will be dropped.
"I guess I was being tested those 23 months to see if I truly was a believer," said Gordon, who credits his faith for carrying him through his time as a detainee.
He has not gone to trial and has not been convicted. He maintains his innocence.
Gordon got out. But many others remain unindicted and behind bars.
"This is not acceptable," said Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis.
Multiple factors and departments have contributed to the case backlog, according to Ellis.
But he said a large part of the responsibility falls on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office.
"You've got X number of cases unindicted. You've been handed significant amount of funds. You see what the numbers are," said Ellis. "Do something about it."
11Alive repeatedly reached out to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office for comment via phone call, email, and text message and have yet to receive a response.
Gordon agrees with Ellis's assessment that cases need to be moved through the system faster.
"We used to call Rice Street the 'roach motel,'" he said. "You can check in but you can't check out."