Died in jail or a lockup
Lashawn Thompson
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, about three months after being booked. Photos released by his family showed his cell and body covered in bed bugs and insects, and his family's attorneys say jail staff watched his health decline without helping him. The Fulton 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 attributed his death to severe neglect, including untreated schizophrenia, dehydration and malnutrition, and classed it as a homicide; the Atlanta Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have investigated.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The Fulton County medical examiner listed the manner and cause as undetermined, while an independent autopsy commissioned by the family found severe neglect, dehydration, malnutrition and untreated schizophrenia and ruled it a homicide; his family's attorneys say staff watched his decline and did not help him, and a detention officer reportedly refused to give him CPR.
Reported by: Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); independent autopsy commissioned by his family (Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr.) (medical examiner or coroner); his family and their attorneys, including Michael Harper and Ben Crump (family or their lawyers); Fulton County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); U.S. Department of Justice (outside investigators).
Lawsuit: His family sued the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and NaphCare, and Fulton County agreed to a $4 million settlement with the family in August 2023.
Sources (132)
- Family of man eaten alive by bed bugs in Fulton County Jail wants answers
- Family wants answers after man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs in county jail, attorney says
- Family seeks action after deceased Fulton inmate found covered in bed bugs - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- From Georgia to Indiana, inmates left by jailers to die in deplorable, inhumane conditions
- Family says deplorable conditions and insect bites in Atlanta jail contributed to inmate’s death
- Family of deceased inmate files lawsuit
- Sheriff responds to claims inmate was eaten alive by bed bugs inside Fulton County Jail - WSB-TV
- Family's attorney says inmate was "eaten alive" by bedbugs at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail
- Man Dies After Being "Eaten Alive" By Bed Bugs In Fulton County Jail
- 'Eaten alive by insects': Atlanta man found dead in jail cell infested with bed bugs, coroner says
- Inmate with schizophrenia found dead in jail cell 'not fit for a diseased animal' after being 'eaten alive by insects and bedbugs': Lawyer
- Man 'eaten alive' by bed bugs in Atlanta jail - family
- Family attorney says man with mental illness was 'eaten alive' by bed bugs at Fulton County Jail
- Man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs and insects dies in Georgia jail, family attorney says
- Man died after being ‘eaten alive’ by bugs in filthy jail cell, family says
- Photos | Man covered in bed bugs, found dead in filthy conditions inside Fulton County Jail
- Man died in filthy jail cell, ‘eaten alive by bed bugs,’: family’s attorney
- A man held in a disgusting Georgia jail cell died after being 'eaten alive' by insects and bed bugs, his family says
- Georgia inmate ‘eaten alive’ by bugs in filthy cell, family claims
- Mentally Ill Man Allegedly Eaten Alive By Bed Bugs Inside Infested Atlanta Jail Cell -
- ''Eaten Alive By Insects'': US Man Found Dead Inside Jail Cell Infested With Bed Bugs
- Prisoner's family demand answers after he is found dead after being 'eaten alive' by insects in cell
- Man dies after being 'eaten alive' by bed bugs in filthy jail cell as staff did nothing
- Man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs in jail
- US Man Found Dead Inside Jail Cell in Atlanta After Being ‘Eaten Alive By Insects’, Probe Launched
- Man found dead eaten by bed bugs in Atlanta jail, lawyer says
- US inmate dies after being 'eaten alive' in prison cell by bugs
- Fulton jailer, assistants resign after man dies in cell infested with bed bugs
- Sheriff accepts resignation of key jail leadership
- How a homeless man wound up dead and covered in bugs in Fulton County Jail - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- ‘Past time to clean house’: Chief Fulton Co. jailers resign after family says inmate died in filth - WSB-TV
- ‘Time to clean house.’ Fulton jailer, assistants out after inmate death, sheriff says - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- GRAPHIC: Schizophrenic Inmate Is Eaten Alive by Bugs in Filthy, Infested Jail Cell
- Family of inmate who died covered in bed bugs reacts to Fulton County Jail shakeup
- Fulton County, Georgia, jail leadership resigns after inmate’s death and accusations of unsanitary conditions
- Top jail staff ousted after man’s death at Ga. jail
- Insect Bites Contributed To Inmate's Death, Prompting GA Jail Updates
- Top jail staff forced out after man's death at Georgia jail
- Top jail staff forced out after bed bug-infested man's death at Georgia jail
- Sweeping changes coming to jail where inmate was allegedly "eaten alive" by bedbugs
- $5.3M approved for Fulton County Jail after family claims inmate ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs - WSB-TV
- Justice Department looking into the jail death of LaShawn Thompson
- Top jail staff forced out after Black man dies in custody
- Family wants federal investigation after man’s death in Fulton jail
- Family calls for justice after death of inmate allegedly 'eaten alive' by bedbugs
- Lashawn Thompson: US inmate died in insect-infested 'death chamber'
- Fulton jail’s medical provider exiting amid probe into inmate death - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Family demands answers after detainee found dead covered in bed bugs
- Family calls for justice after death of inmate allegedly 'eaten alive' by bedbugs - ABC News
- Family calling for justice after man ‘eaten alive’ in ‘death chamber’ at Fulton Jail - WSB-TV
- Jail death investigation continues
- Colin Kaepernick Paying For Autopsy Of Inmate Who Mysteriously Died In Jail
- Colin Kaepernick Paying For Autopsy Of Man Who Was Allegedly 'Eaten Alive' By Bed Bugs In Jail
- Colin Kaepernick to fund autopsy after Fulton jail inmate found dead, covered in bugs, attorneys say
- Colin Kaepernick Pays For Autopsy Of Man “Eaten Alive By Bed Bugs” In Jail
- Crump says Kaepernick to pay for autopsy for inmate who died in 'appalling conditions'
- Colin Kaepernick will pay for independent autopsy of Georgia inmate family claims was "eaten alive" by bedbugs
- Colin Kaepernick to pay for autopsy of inmate who died in insect-infested jail cell
- Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan | The gruesome death of Lashawn Thompson in the Fulton County Jail - Times-Standard
- Jailer says he’s being used as scapegoat over death of inmate allegedly eaten alive by bed bugs - WSB-TV
- Jailer says he’s being used as scapegoat over death of inmate allegedly eaten alive by bed bugs
- Man found dead in bedbug-infested jail cell; family demands answers
- Eaten Alive By Bed Bugs? A Horrifying Investigation Into Atlanta's Fulton County Jail | TSR Investigates
- Honoring the Lives Lost in Detention: Wyatt Vigil by AMOR
- Atlanta-area jails to track inmates with high-tech wristbands - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- 'Like a horror movie': Photos of Lashawn Thompson's body and Fulton County Jail cell spark outrage
- Jail Staff Knew Lashawn Thompson's Cell Filthy Before Death: Records
- Man died of 'severe neglect' in Fulton County Jail, including bed bug infestation, autopsy shows
- Georgia man found dead in bed bug-infested jail cell died of 'severe neglect': Independent autopsy - ABC News
- Autopsy finds ‘severe neglect’ to blame for man’s death in bedbug-infested jail cell
- Independent autopsy released for inmate ‘eaten alive’ in ‘death chamber’ at Fulton County Jail - WSB-TV
- Autopsy finds 'severe neglect' to blame for man's death in bedbug-infested jail cell
- Man found dead in bug-infested cell died of 'severe neglect': Independent autopsy
- Private autopsy: Lashawn Thompson died from ‘severe neglect’ - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Independent autopsy blames "severe neglect" in man's death in bedbug-infested jail cell
- Georgia inmate allegedly eaten alive by bugs died by homicide, autopsy reveals
- New autopsy for inmate 'eaten alive' by bugs
- Lashawn Thompson’s death at a Georgia county jail was a homicide caused by neglect, independent medical review commissioned by attorneys says
- Autopsy: 'Severe neglect' to blame for man's death in bedbug-infested Georgia jail cell
- Man who died in bedbug jail cell faced severe neglect - independent autopsy
- What Killed Lashawn Thompson? - Capital B News
- Private autopsy says man who died in Georgia jail lived in 'torture chamber' conditions, died of 'severe neglect'
- Lashawn Thompson died from ‘severe neglect,’ autopsy finds
- Lashawn Thompson Died in Bedbug-Infested Jail Cell From 'Criminal Neglect,' Autopsy Confirms
- Inmate ‘eaten alive’ by bugs in prison cell
- 'Neglected to death': Inmate with schizophrenia 'eaten alive' in jail cell 'torture chamber,' independent autopsy finds
- Inmate 'eaten alive by bugs' after prison staff's 'extreme neglect left him 'malnourished'
- Independent autopsy rules death of Georgia prisoner who was “eaten alive” by lice and bed bugs a homicide
- Family reacts to contract extension at jail
- Fulton County extends contract for controversial jail medical provider
- Justice Dept. to Investigate Georgia Jail Where Inmate Died Covered in Lice (Published 2023)
- Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail conditions to be probed in DOJ civil rights investigation
- DOJ launching civil rights investigation into Fulton County Jail - WSB-TV
- U.S. DOJ to probe Fulton County Jail after death of mentally ill inmate - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Feds to investigate Georgia's Fulton County Jail for filthy, dangerous conditions
- DOJ Opens Probe Into Jail Where Inmate Died Covered in Insects
- Fulton County settles with family of jail inmate who died covered in bed bugs - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Family of Lashawn Thompson, who died in a Georgia jail, reaches $4 million settlement with county
- Family of Man 'Eaten Alive' by Bed Bugs in Jail Cell Agrees $4M Settlement
- Fulton County approves $4 million settlement for family of man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs in jail - WSB-TV
- $4M for man who died in jail covered in bedbugs
- Family of man who died in bedbug-infested cell in Georgia jail reaches settlement with county
- $4 million settlement for family of man who died covered in bug bites at Georgia jail
- Family of LaShawn Johnson, who died in bed bug-infested Georgia jail cell, gets $4 million settlement
- Family of Schizophrenic Man 'Eaten Alive by Bed Bugs' in Jail Cell Agrees to $4 Million Settlement From County
- Family of inmate who was "eaten alive" by bedbugs in Georgia jail reaches settlement with county
- 'Severe Neglect': Family of Man Who Was 'Eaten Alive' By Bed Bugs Inside Atlanta Jail After Failing to Pay Bail Is Poised To Receive $4 Million Settlement
- The Fulton County Jail where Trump will be booked has seen 23 deaths in custody in less than 4 years
- Trump's time in Fulton County Jail was brief. Others die waiting
- A fourth inmate has died in this problematic jail's custody this month
- Four people held in a problem-plagued jail have died over the span of a month
- 1 fatally stabbed, 2 injured at Georgia’s Fulton County Jail
- ‘No one should die in custody;’ NAACP, ACLU calls for change at Fulton jail after 10th inmate death - WSB-TV
- Autopsies spotlight mental health crisis at Fulton County Jail
- Georgia Senate confronts overcrowding and deaths at troubled Fulton County jail in Atlanta
- Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. speaks to the Courier on advocating for knowledge on deaths while in law enforcement custody
- US man left in prison 'death chamber' at Atlanta jail suffered most gruesome end imaginable
- Killings, stabbings, drugs: DoJ report paints damning picture of Atlanta jail
- Family of man who died in Fulton jail wants criminal charges after DOJ report on violated rights - WSB-TV
- Feds find severe, deadly civil rights violations at Atlanta jail
- Department of Justice says rights of inmates at Fulton County Jail are being violated - WSB-TV
- DOJ says jail conditions in Georgia's Fulton County violate detainee rights
- Georgia’s Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to ‘inhumane, violent’ conditions that threaten their safety, DOJ finds
- Justice Department enters consent decree with Fulton County over jail conditions
- ‘Inhumane’ conditions at Georgia jail highlighted in man’s ‘horrific’ death, feds say
- Why doesn’t the U.S. government know how many people die in custody?
- Inside the violent Fulton County Jail, it's the very sick and vulnerable who are dying
- Die and Disappear: Alarm Raised on In Custody Deaths
- Another inmate dies at Fulton County Jail, 10th inmate death this year - ABC News
- DOJ launches probe into Georgia's Fulton County jails amid allegations of inmate abuse, neglect - ABC News
- Woman connected to death of man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs in Fulton County Jail pleads guilty - WSB-TV
- Woman connected to death of man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs in Fulton County Jail pleads guilty