Colin Kaepernick Paying For Autopsy of Inmate Family Believes Was Eaten Alive By Bed Bugs

Colin Kaepernick is hoping to provide some closure to the mystery surrounding the death of an Atlanta inmate whose family believes he was eaten alive inside his cell by bed bugs.

LaShawn Thompson died inside his Fulton County jail cell last September and his family has been convinced he passed due to the cell’s unsanitary conditions. However, an autopsy report provided no answers when it came back “undetermined.”

Now the former NFL quarterback is stepping up to the plate by offering to pay for a second independent autopsy that could range in price from $20-50,000, TMZ reported. Kaepernick contacted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump to help the family after being disturbed by the conditions Thompson and other Fulton County inmates have been enduring.

The jail has already been facing calls for closure due to its unclean conditions. It’s the same conditions that Thompson’s family believes took his life.

“The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal. This is inexcusable and it’s deplorable,” Thompson family attorney Michael Harper said.

Thompson was initially arrested in June 2022 for a misdemeanor simple battery. He was placed in the psychiatric wing of Fulton County Jail after officials determined he had mental issues, Daily Mail reports.

But, three months later, he was found dead inside his cell and now the family is demanding answers and for the jail to be shut down.

“We are asking for a criminal investigation into the death of Mr. Thompson,” Harper said. “We are also asking for the jail to be shut down.”

Photos of the cell show it filthy and covered in bed bugs. Thompson’s family also obtained open medical records that showed detention offices and medical staff at the jail noticed Thompson was deteriorating, but did nothing to help him.

“They literally watched his health decline until he died,” a statement read. “Mr. Thompson was housed in was not fit for a diseased animal. He did not deserve this. Someone has to be held accountable for his death.”

Kaepernick’s involvement in Thompson’s second autopsy comes after he launched an initiative in February 2022 to offer autopsies to police-related deaths, NPR reports.