{"id":18646,"date":"2023-04-20T15:40:37","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T19:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=18646"},"modified":"2023-04-20T15:40:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T19:40:38","slug":"human-rights-subcommittee-chairman-ossoff-launches-inquiry-into-conditions-of-incarceration","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/human-rights-subcommittee-chairman-ossoff-launches-inquiry-into-conditions-of-incarceration\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Ossoff Launches Inquiry into Conditions of Incarceration<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sen. Ossoff launches new inquiry after disturbing jail deaths in Georgia & Indiana<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Congress, Sen. Ossoff led bipartisan investigations into conditions of incarceration in Georgia & nationwide \u2014 uncovering <\/em>widespread corruption<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>sexual abuse of women<\/em><\/a>, and <\/em>failures to count prison & jail deaths<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff also <\/em>passed into law<\/em><\/a> bipartisan legislation to strengthen security in Federal prisons <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. \u2014<\/strong> U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, Chairman of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, is continuing his oversight of conditions of incarceration in Georgia and nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his latest effort to protect incarcerated people from human rights abuses, Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Ossoff launched an inquiry to strengthen oversight of jails and prisons where brutal treatment and other human rights abuses have been reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Department of Justice has an affirmative obligation to safeguard the civil rights of incarcerated people, whether they are held in Federal, state, or local custody,\u201d Sen. Ossoff <\/strong>wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>\u201cAdditionally, the Federal government provides hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to state and local prisons and jails through an array of grant programs, including through the DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance, and thus has the responsibility to oversee the use of those resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em> and other outlets across Georgia reported<\/a> that 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson died in Fulton County Jail after being held in the facility\u2019s psychiatric wing. According to local reports, Thompson\u2019s body was later found covered in bedbugs and insect bites due to the alleged deplorable conditions in his jail cell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same week, The Guardian<\/em> reported<\/a> that 29-year-old Joshua McLemore was found dead in his cell at Jackson County Jail in Indiana after reportedly suffering from malnutrition and dehydration while in solitary confinement at the facility. Newly released surveillance footage \u2014 filed as part of a Federal civil rights lawsuit against Jackson County \u2014 revealed that Mr. McLemore was left naked and starving in solitary confinement for nearly three weeks with no medical attention, which reports said led to multiple organ failure and his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Congress, Sen. Ossoff led substantial bipartisan oversight of the Department of Justice and led multiple bipartisan investigations into corruption, abuse, and misconduct in U.S. prisons and jails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan investigations uncovered corruption, abuse, and misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta<\/a>; nearly 1,000 uncounted deaths<\/a> in prisons and jails across the country; and widespread sexual abuse of women<\/a> in Federal prisons nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff also passed into law bipartisan legislation<\/a> to upgrade security in Federal prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read Sen. Ossoff\u2019s inquiry.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Ossoff launches new inquiry after disturbing jail deaths in Georgia & Indiana Last Congress, Sen. Ossoff led bipartisan investigations into conditions of incarceration in Georgia & nationwide \u2014 uncovering widespread corruption, sexual abuse of women, and failures to count prison & jail deaths Sen. Ossoff also passed into law bipartisan legislation to strengthen security in Federal prisons  Washington, D.C. […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18646","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/18646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/18646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18648,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/18646\/revisions\/18648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}