Family of Stephen Fossett demands justice after Bibb County Jail death
The family and legal team of Stephen Fossett are continuing their fight for justice after reviewing jail footage of the events leading to his death inside the Bibb County Jail on May 25, 2024.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The family and legal team of Stephen Fossett are continuing their fight for justice after reviewing jail footage of the events leading to his death inside the Bibb County Jail on May 25, 2024.
Civil rights attorney Mawuli Davis says Fossett was in a dorm area and looked as if he was confused and in medical distress.
“He was having some mental health issues sitting in a shower area and was unattended for a number of minutes,” Davis said.
Davis says Fossett should have been placed in a mental health facility to be stabilized after what he says caused a mental health issue Fossett was experiencing that day.
“A number of detention officers give chase and boxed him in and just pounce on him,” Davis said. “He was all of 115-120 pounds. All of the officers began to tase and put their full body weight on him.”
Davis says Fossett was tased, cuffed and left unattended.
“He sat in front of their eyes, and it looked as if he expired,” Davis said. “Then all of a sudden, you see people getting off of computers and stopping their conversation, then re-engage to try to perform life-saving maneuvers, but by that time, it was too late.”
According to a report from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Fossett became combative with medical staff and deputies who were trying to treat him while he was experiencing a medical issue. They say that’s when a taser was used to control him, but it had no effect.
The report said he was then restrained and taken to a medical facility, where he later died.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) ruled his death a homicide nearly four months later.
In August 2024, the family announced during a news conference that had schizophrenia and was serving three years for criminal trespassing but was in a special program because of his mental health.
On what would have been Stephen’s 43rd birthday, his family and legal team held a special event to discuss the current status of the investigation.
Fossett’s mother, Paula Platt, says she would love to see more mental health training to prevent events like this from happening to anyone else.
“We need more empathy, and just make sure things are handled better,” she said. “I think that my son’s whole case—even from the time that he passed, and the events from there—everything just needs to be handled differently when a person passes.”
As of Wednesday, the sheriff’s office has yet to release the jail footage, but Fossett’s mother and legal team say they will continue to fight until justice is served.
“He does matter, he has a family that loves him dearly, and we want justice for him,” she said.
