A “racially motivated murder” is being investigated at the Clayton County Jail, in Jonesboro, Georgia, according to Sheriff Levon Allen.
Allen states inmate Jaquees Jackson “brutally beat his cellmate with his bare hands, viciously punching, kicking and slamming his head on the toilet, murdering him simply because of the color of his skin.”
According to Allen, when they were investigating Jackson, he “stated several times to investigators that he does not like Mexicans / Hispanics and wanted to kill them.”
Officials charged Jackson with four counts: murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, and starting a penal riot.
The name of the inmate has not been released and it is unknown if Jackson has acquired an attorney in relation to the charges.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office were both requested to investigate the gruesome murder.
Initially, Jackson was arrested for simple battery, simple assault, criminal trespass, battery, terroristic threats, and obstruction of an officer.
Jackson was given one year in jail and four years on probation but then was arrested again after violating it.
U.S Department of Justice launches investigation into Clayton County Jail
After noticing the many deaths, Ossoff alerted the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation.
“There appears to be a pattern and practice of civil rights violations in the mail that result in preventable deaths and jeoparadize public trust.”
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff
The “racially-motivated murder” follows the calling for a federal civil rights investigation into “alleged mistreatment and abuse of inmates” in the Clayton County Jail, pointing to reports of “troubling conditions” after the death of many inmates. The federal civil rights investigation was initiated by Ossoff.
The Clayton County Jail houses 1,900 prisoners and has 1,536 beds with two inmates per room. According to Allen, the prisoners either reside on the floor or in a cell with two other inmates.
Over the past 11 months, Allen and the Board of Commissioners have been “working diligently to make improvements”.
The upgrades included over a $5 million budget for improved facilities and security.
Allen also requested an additional $6.5 million to expand the jail’s capacity from the Board of Commissioners.
