FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The family of the man found stabbed to death inside the Fulton County jail told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington that they plan to sue the Fulton County sheriff and others.
“We miss Leonard. We truly miss Leonard, but Leonard will not go down in vain,” Donna Fortner, the mother of Leonard Fortner said.
Fulton County deputies said in April, fellow inmate Edward Cherry stabbed Leonard Fortner to death with a shank, inside the jail.
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“To come here and to be killed in the fashion that he was,” said Fortner.
Thursday afternoon, the attorneys for the Fortner family said if it were not for the dangerous conditions at the jail, Fortner might be alive today.
“The sheriff in his capacity ultimately made decisions that ultimately led to Leonard’s death and the death of others,” attorney CK Hoffler said.
Fortner was one of several inmates to die inside the Fulton County jail, just this year alone.
In April, Mayor Andre Dickens wrote in part:
“I am extremely concerned about the crisis at the Fulton County Jail. All human life must become a priority to Fulton County.”
“...the Fulton County Commission has underfunded quality of life services for inmates...”.
The family’s attorneys told Washington they don’t believe more funding and a new jail is the answer.
“So, we understand the jail is dilapidated but there could’ve been actions taken for it not to be in those conditions,” Hoffler said.
“We are here to carry the burdens of others to make sure no one else receives this type of information overnight or receives the death sentence of a child,” Donna Fortner added.
Leonard Fortner was only at the Fulton County jail, on a property damage arrest, for three months before he was killed.
The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into all the deaths at the Fulton County Jail.
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