The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta subjects inmates to “inhumane, violent and hazardous conditions” that threaten their safety, a US Justice Department official said Thursday, announcing the results of a 16-month investigation.

U.S. Justice Department officials said jail officials in Georgia’s most populous county violate the constitutional rights of people in their custody by failing to protect them from violence, using excessive force and holding them in filthy and unsafe conditions.

Justice Department finds that Georgia’s Fulton County fails to adequately protect jail inmates from violence

U.S. Justice Department says one of the nation’s most notorious jails also violate Americans with Disabilities Act.

The report details inadequate living conditions and medical care, as well as excessive force used by detention officers.

Georgia officials violated the rights of people in an overcrowded jail plagued by killings and inhumane conditions, a Justice Department report says.

The DOJ launched a civil rights investigation into conditions at the Fulton County Jail after several inmates had died in a matter of weeks. One inmate, according to his family, was "eaten alive" by bed bugs.