NCJ Number
175260
Editor(s)
C Brown,
A Collins
Date Published
1996
Length
224 pages
Annotation
This study assesses how well Atlanta, which advertised itself as "the modern capital of human rights" in its application to host the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and the State of Georgia comply with international human rights standards.
Abstract
The study found that Atlanta police officers have used excessive force, including unjustified shootings and severe beatings with impunity. Further, Georgia's death penalty law has led to capital punishment primarily for the poor and for African- Americans; this discriminatory impact compounds the abuse inherent in the death penalty itself. Also, drug laws are enforced disproportionately against black drug offenders. In the area of corrections, State-run jails are overcrowded and in poor physical condition, and local jail officials have neglected prisoners' welfare. Women in prison suffer sexual harassment and intimidation, and sometimes rape, by their guards. Juveniles in State confinement face poor custodial conditions and are subjected to cruel restraints and punishment. Lesbians and gay men face hostility that ranges from harassment under the State's anti-"sodomy" law, to openly discriminatory firing of gay employees, to verbal threats and physical attacks. Finally, freedom of expression is undermined by local school boards and State legislators. These problems are not unique to Atlanta or to Georgia. The custodial abuse, official neglect, discrimination, and intolerance found in Georgia occur in many other parts of the United States, and those who commit abuses often go unpunished. Specific recommendations are offered in each chapter to address the human rights violations discussed. General recommendations are presented in the areas of improving accountability, the death penalty and discrepancies in the criminal justice system, discrimination and intolerance, and international human rights protections. Appended international human rights principles and protocols