A federal judge on Thursday gave Fulton County commissioners 60 days to enter into a “binding” contract with Atlanta to buy the city jail or they could be locked up in the U.S. Penitentiary for contempt.

In the order U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob reinforced a threat he made in a meeting two weeks ago that he was prepared to take more drastic steps to ensure Fulton County addresses the problem with its overcrowded jail.

Shoob detailed in his 11-page order the many times the county has commissioned studies of solutions to its jail crowding problem but ignored those recommendations. He wrote the county had failed “to plan for the growth in inmate population despite projections.”

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/fede...n-1153709.html