The autopsy of LaShawn Thompson, an inmate at the Fulton County Jail who was reportedly eaten alive by bugs in an infested cell, has listed his manner of death as a homicide.
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Thompson’s attorneys revealed the details of his autopsy report, which listed his cause of death as complications due to untreated schizophrenia, dehydration, malnourishment, and severe body insect infestation. Forensic pathologist Dr. Rodger Mitchell wrote in the report that the manner of Thompson’s death was listed as a homicide due to the severe neglect he experienced at Fulton County Jail, as the New York Post reported.
Attorney Ben Crump said the staff’s “cruelty and inhumanity killed” Thompson. As previously reported, Thompson was awaiting trial for a June 2022 misdemeanor battery charge, and staff placed him in the psychiatric wing after learning he had schizophrenia. Three months after he remained in the wind, staff members found Thompson emaciated, along with infections from the bedbugs and lice on his skin.
“He was dehydrated, malnourished, and his body was infested inside and out with insects — it is truly one of the most horrific cases we have seen.”
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An independent autopsy into Lashawn Thompson’s death found the 35-yo died due to “severe neglect” at the Fulton County Jail. We need accountability for his DEPLORABLE death — the inaction, cruelty, and inhumanity that led to his death cannot go unaccounted for! pic.twitter.com/uCVVS1avR8
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) May 22, 2023
Other plans were to transfer him to another jail, but nothing transpired due to Thompson’s death.
The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, has been under scrutiny for years due to its poor conditions. Inmates have reported overcrowding, lack of access to medical care, and violence. In 2022, an inmate died after being bitten by bedbugs.
The jail is designed to house 2,500 inmates but currently houses over 3,000. This overcrowding has led to inmates being housed in cells designed for one person but now containing two or three people. This overcrowding has also led to a lack of access to showers, toilets, and other basic amenities.
Inmates have also reported a lack of access to medical care. They have said that they have to wait hours to see a doctor and that they are often not given the care they need when they do see a doctor. This has led to some inmates developing serious medical conditions that could have been prevented with timely medical care.
Records at the jail also showed that there were plans to transfer over 600 inmates and release a $500,000 expenditure to address the overcrowding issues amid Thompson’s death. “It’s no secret that the dilapidated and rapidly eroding conditions of the current facility make it incredibly difficult to meet the goal of providing a safe, clean, well-maintained and healthy environment for all inmates and staff,” said Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat.