Georgia Today: Negligence lawsuit over prison death; Federal prison oversight bill; Olympics

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, July 25. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, the family of a man who died at a state prison is suing for negligence. President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill strengthening federal prison oversight. And dozens of athletes from Georgia prepare to compete tomorrow in the Olympics. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The family of a man who died in Georgia Department of Corrections custody is suing the agency for negligence. GPB's Sofi Gratas reports 27-year-old Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiana allegedly died from heat exposure.

Sofi Gratas: Ramirez Bibiana was serving time at Middle Georgia's Telfair State Prison when he died last July from a heart attack after exposure to three-digit temperatures. According to the complaint, prison staff were warned that morning about the heat and told not to leave inmates outside too long or without water. Ramirez Bibiana was left in an outdoor cell for five hours before receiving medical attention. Attorney for the family Wingo Smith said there's a lot they haven't been able to learn from the GDC.

Wingo Smith: We don't know why he was there, why he didn't have water or ice or shade, why he was out there as long as he was.

Sofi Gratas: They hope discovery will bring more to light. The GDC said it does not comment on pending litigation. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas in Macon.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill strengthening oversight of the crisis-plagued Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Federal Prison Oversight Act, signed today, establishes an independent ombudsman to investigate complaints after sexual assaults and other allegations of staff misconduct. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff introduced the oversight bill in 2022. Ossoff says the human rights crisis behind bars in the U.S. is, quote, "a stain on America's conscience."

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A state judge has denied a request filed by three district attorneys to block the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission. That's the body created by Republican lawmakers last year that can investigate and remove elected district attorneys. GPB's Sarah Kallis has the latest.

Sarah Kallis: Judge Paige Reese Whitaker rejected the request for an injunction against the committee, while a lawsuit continues to move forward. Two Democratic district attorneys, Sherry Boston and Jared Williams, and Republican District Attorney Jonathan Adams, filed a legal challenge against the commission. They say the law violates Georgia's constitutional separation of powers and impedes free speech. But Whitaker disagreed with the claims. Plaintiffs plan to continue to fight the law. The Prosecuting Attorneys Qualification Commission was created in 2023, but was not able to take cases until a clarifying law was passed during the 2024 legislative session. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Georgia has almost double the national rate of pregnancy-related deaths, and a big part of that is access to maternity care. But a new study from Georgia Tech suggests measuring access to obstetric care is flawed. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.

Ellen Eldridge: According to a new study from Georgia Tech researchers, 82% of people who live in a county without an obstetric hospital do live within 25 miles of a maternity care provider. Dr. Lawrence Steimle is an assistant professor at Georgia Tech. She says the fact that Georgia has so many small counties skews the data.

Dr. Lawrence Steimle: So we might actually be focusing our efforts on improving access for people that already live close to care, and perhaps by doing so, ignoring other people who do not have access to care.

Ellen Eldridge: Steimle says their work highlights the need for new measures that really reflect a true measure of access. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Plans to build a 12-acre park on top of a busy interstate highway in midtown Atlanta are now stalled. The CEO of the private foundation boosting the project says no public partner has stepped up to provide the necessary funding. The plans came with a $600 million to $800 million estimated cost, and were aimed at reconnecting neighborhoods divided by Interstate 75 and 85. While the Connector Park Foundation says it's suspending its work, two other highway-capping projects in Atlanta continue. One downtown, called the Stitch, received $157 million in federal funding earlier this year. Another in Buckhead, called Hub 404, received $750,000 in federal funding last year.

Caption

Homelessness

Credit: AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A Savannah-based nonprofit, is partnering with the city of Atlanta to provide food, shelter and other services to immigrants and refugee families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Migrant Equity Southeast says it's receiving part of a nearly $11 million grant awarded to Atlanta by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Luisa Nolasco is one of the group's community organizers.

Luisa Nolasco: For the longest time, we had to send to the families that we are now helping with this program to organizations in Atlanta, so they have to go up to Atlanta to request this type of aid. And it's really a big win, being able to provide this assistance at, you know, our backyards at the local level.

Peter Biello: Nolasco says the funding comes from FEMA through the city of Atlanta and Atlanta United Way. The emergency funding comes amid a surge in illegal border crossings that has begun to ease this year.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The president and CEO of the Augusta metro chamber is stepping down after 19 years in her position. The chamber said Tuesday Sue Parr would stay active as a consultant for the organization as a new leader steps in in August. The Augusta metro chamber's vice president, Angie Cox, who previously led the Milledgeville Baldwin County Chamber, was selected as the group's new president and CEO.

Caption

Paris Olympics

Story 8:

Peter Biello: In sports, the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics is set for tomorrow, and 47 Georgians are expected to be on hand. That's according to a list compiled by official Olympic broadcaster NBC. Team USA athletes from Georgia include Atlanta residents Rhyne Howard, the Atlanta Dream guard who will compete in basketball, and tennis star Chris Eubanks. Columbus' Fort Moore is sending four athletes, all competing in shooting. Carson Tyler of South Georgia's Moultrie is competing in diving, and Brody Malone of Northwest Georgia's Summerville is competing in gymnastics. Tennis star and Atlanta-born Coco Gauff will join LeBron James as a flagbearer for Team USA at Friday's opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Paris. Gauff is the reigning U.S. Open champion and is set to make her Olympic debut. She'll be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She and James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, were chosen by their fellow Team USA athletes. The ceremony will be broadcast live at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, with an encore in prime time.

And the Braves face the Mets in New York tonight. Chris Sale is scheduled to get the start. The Braves lost the first game of a planned doubleheader yesterday against the Cincinnati Reds, but the second game was postponed due to rain. That game is now scheduled for Monday, Sept. 9. Today's game is the seventh between the Braves and Mets this season. The season series is tied 3 to 3, and the Braves and Mets are in second and third place in the NL East — and the Braves are just a half game ahead of the Mets in the wild card standings.

Peter Biello: And that's all we've got for this edition of Georgia Today. But more is coming your way tomorrow. If you want to stay on top of the news, the best way to do that is to subscribe to this podcast. When you do, we will pop up automatically in your feed tomorrow. And as always, if you want to learn more about these stories, there's more to see at GPB.org/news. We welcome your feedback. We also welcome tips and story ideas. Send it to us by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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