Fulton County DA halts early release of 193 violent offenders

By MARIYA MURROW, SABRINA SILVA

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    ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took to the podium Wednesday to announce her office has managed to prevent the release of 193 offenders as part of an ongoing effort to combat a historic backlog of inmate cases.

The backlog, a problem Willis says her office inherited from previous administrations, came with a 90-day rule. That rule would mean that defenders, including potentially violent offenders, could be released from jail on a bond if they failed to be indicted on time.

“Of the 224 murder defendants, 51 of them, we have to make a charging decision or they will be released on bond,” Willis told the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in a meeting on Sept. 15. “They should not get a bond because the District Attorney’s office does not have the resources it needs to do all the work we have sitting on them.”

Just weeks ago, the board approved a $5 million dollar request to hire 55 new employees with aims to improve the backlog issue. The approval came after months of delayed requests and heated debate.

“These lawyers and investigators are higher tier lawyers and investigators that will be assigned to investigate and prosecute some of the most serious cases.” Said Willis.

Willis said her team worked around the clock, often sacrificing family and personal time, to get each pending case through court prior to the Sept. 28 deadline.

“What this staff and their efforts has done is made sure that these defendants will not be out to re-offend,” said Willis, “and so it won’t be what happens, it will be what doesn’t happen.”

She added if the understaffed office did not hire more prosecutors and investigators immediately, the backlog would grow, leading to more Fulton County inmates getting out on bond and back into the local community.

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