Pars Today

An American inmate has died after being “eaten alive” by bugs in a filthy prison cell in the state of Georgia.

Lashawn Thompson, 35, died on September 12, 2022, after initially being arrested and detained three months earlier on June 12, 2022, on a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta, where he was taken to the Fulton County Jail and was placed in the psychiatric wing after officials determined he was mentally ill.

Prison records obtained through public records requests show that the detention officers and medical staff at the jail noticed Thompson's health was deteriorating in custody, but did nothing to administer aid to him, Michael B. Harper, an attorney representing Thompson's family told USA Today.

"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.' The jail cell Mr. Thompson was housed in was not fit for a diseased animal. He did not deserve this."

"If you see the photos of the cell that this man was in, you're gonna be outraged," Harper explained. "I mean, it was a filthy, deplorable cell that was really inhumane. The pictures speak for themselves."

"Mr. Thompson was found dead in a filthy jail cell after being eaten alive by insects and bed bugs," he said.

Harper said Thompson’s family demands a criminal investigation into his death as well as the closure and replacement of the Fulton County Jail.

In addition to the criminal investigation, Thompson's attorney said, his family is calling for someone to be held accountable for Lashawn’s death. No lawsuit has yet been filed.

MG