The justice system in Fulton County, Ga., has been a focus in the news cycle lately. District Attorney Fani Willis thought she would make a name for herself by taking down Donald Trump, but it looks like she may have done herself in instead. Corruption, conflicts of interest, and an inappropriate romantic relationship with her special counsel have made Willis look bad even if Judge Scott McAfee doesn’t disqualify her and her office from the Trump prosecution.
Add to the Willis circus an ongoing controversy surrounding conditions at the Fulton County jail. Last summer, Sheriff Pat Labat was too busy cutely telling reporters that he couldn’t wait to “have a mugshot ready” for Trump to see how horrendous the conditions were at his jail. Several inmates died in just a few months, some as the result of stabbings, and guards found one inmate dead in his cell, covered in bugs.
Another recent incident is adding to the bizarre news about Fulton County’s justice system. Willis’ office has been prosecuting a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case — using the same statute she’s employing to go after Trump and 18 co-defendants — involving rapper Young Thug, who has allegedly masterminded a criminal gang with over a decade of violence at its fingertips. The gang was called YSL, short for “Young Slime Life,” a play on Young Thug’s record label, Young Stoner Life.
The case has drawn controversy to Willis from other quarters. Some in the hip-hop community have criticized the DA’s office for using rap lyrics as evidence, howling that the prosecution is targeting black culture. But it’s the recent arrest of a defense attorney who was once tied to the case that is causing people to wonder what the heck is going on in Fulton County.
Related: Fani Willis Was Singing a Different Tune in 2020
“Atlanta police confirmed Nicole Fegan was taken into custody in Gwinnett County and brought to the Fulton County Jail on charges of participating in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit the offense of tampering with evidence,” reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).
During an investigation into a 2022 shooting, investigators discovered that Fegan allegedly told one suspect that he had warrants out for his arrest. The attorney reportedly told the suspect to ditch his phone before authorities arrested him.
“Police did not say who Fegan allegedly tipped off, but Keiontay Davis was arrested in February 2023, months after allegedly shooting and killing 26-year-old Jaquavious Wilson,” the AJC reports.
Fegan was part of the YSL case before she and another defense attorney agreed with the judge to spin their clients’ cases off into separate trials. Fegan and the other attorney were both pregnant, and the slow pace of the jury selection led the judge to allow the clients to have their own trials. At the time, Fegan told the AJC that her client was “supportive of my journey into motherhood.”
It’s unclear how the gang activity arrest will affect Fegan’s career, but at one point she was an up-and-comer in the Atlanta legal community.
“For Fegan, the allegations are a fall from grace for a defense attorney who had been considered a rising star,” reports Fox 5 Atlanta. “In a 2019 Facebook post, she shared an article about her from Atlanta Attorney at Law Magazine which calls her the ‘new generation of criminal defense attorneys.’"
It's no secret that Fulton County's justice system is a mess. The real questions are: who's going to fix it, and how long will it take?
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