The original Fulton County Jail was constructed in 1904 on Pryor Street in downtown Atlanta with a capacity of 400 people.

[6] A former Fulton County jailer was remanded to prison himself in 2012 on charges of accepting bribes of more than $26,000 to distribute drugs inside the jail.

[7] In September 2022, 35-year-old inmate Mr. Lashawn Thompson died in his cell three months after being arrested kept in pre-trail detention for a misdemeanor.

The jail received media attention from the August 24, 2023 mug shot booking of former president Donald Trump.

Plaintiffs in the suit include defendants from the YSL RICO trial, and seek a court injunction requiring the sheriff to improve conditions at the jail.