in august 2016, freeman filed a suit in the georgia northern district court against hall county sheriff gerald couch and other employees of the sheriff's office, alleging that he had been subjected to abuses during his arrest and stay at the hall county jail. federal judge richard w. story ultimately dismissed the suit without a hearing, stating that "neither a state nor its officials acting in their official capacities are 'persons'... on the contrary, states and their officials, acting in official capacities, are immune from suit."