A family is demanding answers after the death of their loved one, whom they believe was eaten alive by bed bugs inside his Atlanta jail cell.
CBS News reports that LaShawn Thompson was arrested for a misdemeanor battery charge on June 12 and was taken to Fulton County Jail, where he was placed in the psychiatric wing due to mental health issues. However, Thompson was found unresponsive in his jail cell on Sept. 19 and pronounced dead after failed attempts to resuscitate him.
According to the family’s attorney, Michael Harper, Thompson “was found dead in a filthy jail cell after being eaten alive by insects and bed bugs.”
Jail records reportedly show that authorities noticed Thompson was deteriorating inside the jail cell but did nothing to help him. The medical examiner reported his cause of death as “undetermined.”
“They literally watched his health decline until he died,” Harper said.
“When his body was found one of the detention officers refused to administer CPR because in her words she ‘freaked out.'”
Thompson was diagnosed with schizophrenia but was physically healthy when booked into jail, Harper said.
“There is no excuse for a mentally ill inmate to be left alone in a jail, abandoned to die,” he declared.
Disturbing photos show the cell’s dirty conditions with Thompson covered in bed bugs. Harper said the cell was “not fit for a diseased animal.”
“He did not deserve this. Someone has to be held accountable for his death,” Harper said. “The Fulton County Jail must be closed and replaced.”
Thompson’s brother, Brad McCrae, said the family was horrified to see the photos.
“It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. Nobody should see that,” McCrae told WSB-TV.
The alarming death comes after Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat raised concerns last year about the extreme overcrowding at the jail and the need for funding.
“You have 3,500-plus points of data that show the dangers of where we are and the crisis that we’re in,” Labat said during a meeting with the Fulton County Commission.
He also noted the more than 400 inmates sleeping on the floor due to overcrowding,
with the city’s commissioner, Bob Ellis, calling it a “humanitarian crisis.” Thompson’s family is calling for a criminal investigation into his death and for the Fulton County Jail to be replaced.A Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson says a full investigation has been launched.
“The ongoing investigation is examining details regarding the medical care provided and ultimately will determine whether any criminal charges are warranted in this case,” the spokesperson said.