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A Georgia man said on Wednesday that he was traumatized after suffering severe medical neglect at a jail in Atlanta marred by allegations of unsanitary conditions, leading to the amputation of his fingers and lower legs.
Rashaad Muhammad was arrested in August and booked into the Fulton County Jail, where medical staff failed to give him antibiotics and other medical supplies he repeatedly told them he needed, according to his lawyers.
Less than two weeks later, his condition had deteriorated so much that he could no longer stand, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was eventually told the amputations were needed to save his life.
“I’m not okay. Every day is a battle. It’s a struggle,” Muhammad, who now uses a wheelchair, said during a news conference outside the jail after a meeting with Sheriff Pat Labat.
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Rashaad Muhammad, flanked by his attorney Ben Crump and other members of his legal team and supporters, speaks during a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Muhammad, said the meeting with the sheriff at the jail was like “coming back to a nightmare that you pray every day isn’t real,” adding that the treatment Muhammad received was “the very definition of deliberate indifference” and violated his constitutional rights.
The Fulton County Jail has faced numerous issues over the years, which led the U.S. Department of Justice to initiate a civil rights probe into jail conditions in 2023. The investigation revealed prisoners were housed in filthy and unsafe conditions that violated their constitutional rights.
The DOJ and county officials announced a year ago that they had entered into a court-enforceable consent decree. An independent monitor has been visiting the county’s jails and recording the issues and any progress in resolving them.
Crump argued that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners bears significant blame for what happened to Muhammad since its members were made aware of the problems but did not take action.
He suggested the county needs a new jail, a move the sheriff has supported.
Earlier this month, the board of commissioners voted to borrow up to $1.3 billion for jail improvements, including a new special purpose facility and renovations at the current main jail.
Crump also blamed the jail’s medical provider, NaphCare, alleging that its employees, as well as jail guards, ignored Muhammad’s calls for help.
Rashaad Muhammad rests his hands with amputated fingers in his lap during a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
He said NaphCare should not be providing medical services at the jail after another man held at the facility died in a bedbug-infested cell in 2022.
Muhammad said his meeting with the sheriff was “productive” but “not enough.”
Crump said he and his client asked for a criminal investigation into the events leading to the amputations.
Muhammad’s legal team is collecting details and exploring “every possible legal remedy” to secure justice for Muhammad and to hold those responsible accountable, Crump said.
Another one of his attorneys, Liza Park, said he uses a catheter for a chronic bladder condition that makes him very susceptible to infection and that he constantly brings necessary antibiotics and other medical supplies with him.
Muhammad was in jail in connection with a shooting on Aug. 11. He called 911, according to Park, but when police arrived, they arrested him on aggravated assault and gun possession charges. He told officers as he was being taken into custody that he required the antibiotics and medical supplies that were in his car, Park said.
He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was cleared to be taken to the jail, his lawyers said. He repeatedly told the medical staff at the jail that he needed antibiotics and other medical supplies. As his condition worsened, other inmates also urged jail and medical staff to help him.
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Attorney Ben Crump, left, speaks alongside his client, Rashaad Muhammad, during a news conference outside the Fulton County Jail. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback)
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Muhammad was in “severe medical distress” when he was moved back to the hospital on Aug. 22, according to Crump.
After he woke up from a coma a couple of weeks later, Muhammad’s hands and legs had become so infected that doctors told him that his fingers and lower legs would need to be amputated, saying it was a matter of “life over limbs,” Crump said.
Muhammad spent months in the hospital and had multiple surgeries.
The criminal charges against him were dropped while he was in the hospital, Park said.
Digital has reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
