An Atlanta man died in a local jail after being eaten alive by bed bugs, alleges a lawyer representing the man’s family.
The family of Lashawn Thompson, 35, is calling for a criminal investigation into Thompson’s death and for the closure and replacement of a local jail after alleging that Thompson died in custody from bed bugs in a squalid jail cell.
Thompson was incarcerated at the Fulton county jail in Atlanta on a misdemeanor charge. Jail officials had placed Thompson in the facility’s psychiatric unit after determining that he had mental health issues, but noted that he was physically healthy.
On 13 September 2022, three months after being arrested, Thompson was discovered dead inside a dilapidated cell covered in grime and insects. The cell was so filthy that an employee wore a hazmat suit upon entering, the Washington Post reported.
“They left him there essentially,” said Michael Harper, a lawyer representing the Thompson family, to Insider.
“And they had a plan to take him to the medical observation unit, but their plan never happened, and they found him dead, eaten by these bed bugs.”
Thompson’s family, who live in Alabama, had not known Thompson was incarcerated and only found out when authorities notified them about his death, the Post reported.
Authorities were not able to resuscitate Thompson in his cell. A later autopsy did not determine a cause of death but noted that there was an “extremely severe” infestation of small insects on Thompson’s body and a “severe bed bug infestation” in Thompson’s cell.
The report also confirmed that Thompson had signs of cuts and wounds along his body from picking his skin.
Graphic photos released by Harper show the horrific condition of Thompson’s cell and Thompson covered in bugs.
Brad McCrae, Thompson’s brother, said that the family found the photos distressing to look at during a press conference on Thursday, WSB-TV reported. “It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. Nobody should see that,” said McCrae.
In a statement to WSB-TV, the Fulton county sheriff’s office said that it had launched a full investigation into Thompson’s death and had committed $500,000 to address vermin outbreaks in the jail.
The sheriff’s office added that after an investigation, the Georgia bureau of investigations would determine if any criminal charges are warranted.
The family said that while they appreciated efforts to improve jail conditions, more needed to be done.
“If you look at those pictures, how deplorable that jail cell was, how did they get to that point in the first place?” said Harper to the Post. “It’s not fit for an animal.”
