Fulton sheriff: Bill targeting picketers would sap resources
Legislation ‘would overstretch our already crowded jail’
- FC Sheriff’s Office
- Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson
Labor leaders, lawmakers, and human rights advocates plan to meet tomorrow at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local office located south of downtown to blast a bill that would allow judges to slap picketers with $1,000 fines and possibly one year in jail, among other things.
Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson is also not a fan. In a letter to the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, the sheriff says the bill would sap resources, “overstretch” Fulton County’s already crowded jail, and serves no “useful purpose” in fighting crime:
Senator Don Balfour
453 State Capitol Building
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Dear Senator Balfour:
I am writing you to express my concerns about Senate Bill 469. It is my belief, that this bill poses the potential to further overburden an already stressed prison system and would divert badly-needed resources away from protecting Fulton County’s residents.
The problems facing our state’s prison system are immense, particularly in Fulton County. As you know, we are making great strides in solving the problems of overcrowding in Fulton County. We are working closely with county leaders to corne up with ways to lower our jail population. However, if this bill is enacted, it could set this effort back by forcing law enforcement officers to arrest and jail Georgians for participating in civic protests of a specific kind, which would overstretch our already crowded jail.