(ATLANTA) -- Former Fulton County Jail detainee Rashaad Muhammad detailed what he said was a harrowing experience being held at the Atlanta, Georgia, facility from August 2025 to February of this year.

After being arrested on Aug. 11, the 33-year-old -- who used a cane to walk and took medication regularly for a blood condition -- alleged at a press conference last Friday that he was repeatedly denied medical care as his physical condition rapidly deteriorated for more than two weeks.

As he allegedly experienced symptoms like vomiting bile and losing the ability to stand up, Muhammad said his requests for medical attention were ignored for several days and he ultimately experienced septic shock. After being transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, he fell into a coma and both of his hands and legs were amputated. 

In a statement to ABC News, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said Muhammad spent 177 of the 188 days he was in custody "at Grady under hospital care."

"For days, I'm in the corner by myself suffering. Nobody's checking on me. Nobody's coming up to you," an emotional Muhammad told the press. "I'm back there. I was tired, so I'm trying to tell the officer, 'Hey officer, I need to, you know, it's getting bad.' Nothing." 

He alleged that officials in the jail ignored his condition, even as he asked for medical help each day.

"I'm begging the sheriff to let me see the provider ... I can't get up. Every time they do head count, you have to stand by your door," he said. "It got so bad to the point where I couldn't even get up. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to the officers but I just couldn't get up. So they just started, they'd see me, they didn't, I didn't have to do headcount. But that's when I knew it was bad."

Muhammad had been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and firearm possession. According to court records, the warrant alleges that he drove up to the victim, got out of his car and fired multiple shots at the victim, then drove off.

At the press conference, Muhammad and his attorneys described this as a case of self-defense. All charges were dropped earlier this month. It's unclear exactly why the charges were dropped.

"For them to drop the charges is another slap in the face, because I was there for no reason. I didn't have to be there," Muhammad said.

An attorney from the Georgia Public Defender Council represented Muhammad at the time.

"This case raises serious questions about humane treatment in custody and emphasizes the importance of testing allegations through a fair adversarial process that ultimately resulted in Mr. Muhammad's charges being dismissed," a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to ABC News.

The prosecutors in the case did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

The Fulton County jail system has been the subject of scrutiny for years, drawing national attention in 2022 over the death of LaShawn Thompson in a bed bug-infested cell. In response to a series of reports of inmate abuse and neglect, including Thompson's death, the Department of Justice launched a civil investigation into the Fulton County jail system in July 2023.

"We need to know why Fulton County did what they did in choosing their health care provider," Muhammad's attorney, Eric Hertz, told the press. "We need to know why a bottle of pills which he had on him when he was originally arrested, why they didn't let him take that with him, why they didn't carefully give him the antibiotics as he needed them."

In a statement to ABC News, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said it cannot comment on or release information about Muhammad's medical condition or treatment due to privacy laws.

"It is important to note that of the 188 days Mr. Muhammad was in custody, 177 of those days were spent at Grady under hospital care," it said. "During his time at the Fulton County Jail, he was under the medical care of NaphCare."

NaphCare is a private, for-profit correctional health care company based in Alabama. A 2024 report released by the Justice Department after LaShawn Thompson's death noted "ongoing issues" with the company's staffing at the jail, but its contract with Georgia state was ultimately renewed until 2027.

At the press conference on Friday, attorney Ben Crump noted that the same medical provider was involved in both Thompson and Muhammad's situations.

"We need answers, and we need Fulton County to act. This is deplorable, this is horrific, this is egregious," he said. "And worst of all, this is inhumane. We don't treat human beings like this."

In a statement to ABC News, NaphCare said "Fulton County jails represent one of the most difficult environments" where the company provides care in the U.S.

"Despite the challenges, we have been extraordinarily successful in improving care and saving lives, maintaining accreditation by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and working with federal court monitors to implement reforms under a federal court consent decree," the company said.

NaphCare noted that it has "cared for tens of thousands of patients, and have had thousands of positive patient outcomes" in the time it has been contracted to work at the jail.

It also addressed Muhammad's case specifically.

"We are also deeply saddened by and sorry for the suffering and losses that Mr. Muhammad experienced," the company said its statement. "We understand that he has a right to file a lawsuit against us, and we will respond to the allegations in court filings and will not comment to the news media outside of the ongoing court proceedings."

Muhammad's legal team called for accountability and a full investigation into the conditions and medical care within the jail.

ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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