[A record number of inmates are dying in Georgias five largest
county jails, and that Fulton County Jail has led the state in such
deaths since 2009. Overcrowding and understaffing plague the facility,
where around half of the more than 3,000 inmates have not been charged
with any crime.]
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KAEPERNICK TO FUND INDEPENDENT AUTOPSY FOR ATLANTA INMATE FOUND DEAD
IN INSECT-INFESTED CELL  
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Brett Wilkins
April 21, 2023
Common Dreams [[link removed]]

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_ A record number of inmates are dying in Georgia's five largest
county jails, and that Fulton County Jail has led the state in such
deaths since 2009. Overcrowding and understaffing plague the facility,
where around half of the more than 3,000 inmates have not been charged
with any crime. _

A man holds up a placard demanding justice for Lashawn Thompson, a
mentally ill inmate who died in Georgia's Fulton County Jail, (Photo:
ColorOfChange/Twitter)

 

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump on Thursday said that former NFL
quarterback and racial justice activist Colin Kaepernick will pay for
an independent autopsy for Lashawn Thompson, a mentally ill man who
died last September in a filthy, insect-infested cell in an
overcrowded Atlanta jail.

Crump spoke at a rally and news conference
[[link removed]] outside the Fulton
County Jail, where Thompson, who was arrested last June for alleged
misdemeanor simple battery, was held for three months before his
death.

"We want to thank Colin Kaepernick for helping this family get to the
truth and soon," Crump said, flanked by Thompson's relatives.

"What happened to Lashawn Thompson is a human rights violation," the
attorney added. "If we don't ask the questions and we don't get the
answers and we don't get to the truth, then next time it could be your
loved one. This isn't just about Lashawn Thompson. This is about every
citizen in Fulton County, Georgia."

Thompson, who suffered from mental health issues, was diagnosed with
schizophrenia and transferred to the jail's psychiatric wing.
According to jail records, on September 13 an officer saw Thompson
slumped over in his cell, which was so dirty that a staff member who
entered it wore protective gear. Inside, Thompson lay dead
[[link removed]] with
his eyes open, his body covered with what Crump said were over 1,000
insect bites. Thompson was 35 years old.

Jail records show that medical and correctional staff repeatedly
noted—and voiced concerns about—Thompson's deteriorating health
but did not help him.

"They literally watched his health decline until he died," Michael
Harper, another attorney representing Thompson's family, said in
a statement
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Harper asserted that Thompson "was found dead in a filthy jail cell
after being eaten alive by insects and bed bugs."

An official autopsy could not determine the cause of Thompson's death
but noted an "extremely severe" insect infestation on his body.

"Can you imagine him screaming and him hollering, saying 'They biting,
they biting' and nobody come," Thompson's aunt, Mamie Norman, said
[[link removed]] at
Thursday's rally. "Nobody. Nobody. I still have no understanding until
y'all find out what happened to him."

A report
[[link removed]] obtained
last year from NaphCare—an institutional healthcare services
contractor repeatedly accused
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neglect—revealed widespread medical negligence in Fulton County
Jail's mental health unit, where more than 90% of inmates were so
severely malnourished that they developed cachexia, a wasting syndrome
often associated with diseases like advanced cancer or AIDS.

Additionally, "100% of inmates" in the unit "had either lice, scabies,
or both."

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat—who called Thompson's death
"absolutely unconscionable"—earlier this week asked for and received
the resignation of three top jail officials, including Chief Jailer
John Jackson.

"It's clear to me that it's time, past time, to clean house," Labat
said in a statement
[[link removed]] on
Monday.

An October 2022 investigation
[[link removed]] by _The __Atlanta
Journal-Constitution _revealed that a record number of inmates are
dying in Georgia's five largest county jails, and that Fulton County
Jail has led the state in such deaths since 2009.

Overcrowding and understaffing plague the facility, where around half
of the more than 3,000 inmates have not been charged with any crime.
Labat admitted that more than 400 inmates were sleeping on the floor
because of overcrowding.

"The type of infestations that contributed to Mr. Thompson's death are
going to be a recurring problem in a jail where hundreds of detainees
do not have cells and have to sleep on the floor," the sheriff said
[[link removed]] on
Thursday.

Sakira Cook, vice president of campaigns, policy, and government at
the racial justice group Color of Change, said Thursday in
a statement
[[link removed]] that
"like Lashawn Thompson, countless individuals are currently enduring
completely inhumane conditions at the severely overcrowded Fulton
County Jail—often waiting for months at a time for frequently minor
offenses and small amounts of cash bail."

"This must end. Despite years of scrutiny, the neglect and inhumane
conditions within the jail have persisted, with little to no
meaningful changes in prosecutorial practices or conditions," Cook
added. "The current dark reality of mass incarceration is not
accidental, but rather the consequence of intentional policies crafted
by a dominant white culture that perpetuates and profits from the
suppression of Black individuals through the jailing system."

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who chairs the Senate Human
Rights Subcommittee, announced
[[link removed]] the
launch of an inquiry into conditions of incarceration in Georgia and
nationwide. Previous Ossoff-led probes of U.S. carceral conditions
revealed nearly 1,000 uncounted deaths, widespread sexual crimes,
corruption, abuse, and misconduct at prisons and jails across the
nation.

According to
[[link removed]] the
Sentencing Project, an advocacy group, there are nearly 2 million
people locked up in U.S. prisons and jails—a 500% increase over the
past 40 years and more than any other country in the world, by far.

_Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

_Common Dreams is a reader-supported independent news outlet created
in 1997 as a new media model.  Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most
important news stories of the moment. Common Dreams free online
journalism keeps our millions of readers well-informed, inspired, and
engaged._

_We are optimists. We believe real change is possible. But only if
enough well-informed, well-intentioned—and just plain fed up and
fired-up—people demand it. We believe that together we can attain
our common dreams.  We can't survive without our readers continued
support.  DONATE NOW
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