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Died in jail or a lockup

Lashawn Thompson

35 years old · died September 13, 2022 · Fulton County Jail, Fulton County, Georgia

Lashawn Thompson, 35, had schizophrenia and was held in the psychiatric wing of the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he died in September 2022. His family, who live in Florida and Alabama, says he was eaten alive by bed bugs and insects in a filthy cell and that jail staff saw his health decline without helping him. The county medical examiner listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined and noted a severe bed bug infestation. An independent autopsy commissioned by his family's attorneys found that severe neglect, dehydration, malnutrition and untreated schizophrenia caused his death and classed it as a homicide. The sheriff said there were failures that led to his death, and the county approved a $4 million settlement with his family in August 2023.

Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed; neglect alleged). The county medical examiner left the cause and manner undetermined, while an independent autopsy commissioned by the family attorneys called it a homicide from complications of severe neglect, with untreated schizophrenia contributing; the family says staff watched his health decline and did not act.

Reported by: Fulton County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Independent autopsy commissioned by the family's attorneys (Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr.) (family or their lawyers); Thompson's family and attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Harper (family or their lawyers); Fulton County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him).

Lawsuit: His family sued the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and jail medical provider NaphCare, and Fulton County approved a $4 million settlement with the family in August 2023.

Sources (118)

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