When prison guards find Lawshawn Thompson lifeless in his cell, they are faced with a terrifying sight. Without water, without food, without medicine and in a completely neglected state, the prisoner had been swept and finally collapsed to the ground. Thompson also lay in his own feces. Bed bugs, lice and other vermin had spread all around him.
This is what Michael Harper, Lashawn Thompson’s family lawyer, told American media. “Lashwan was arrested in June, put in a cell and left to die.” In June 2022, police arrested Thompson on charges of minor assault. The 35-year-old African-American died three months later.
The case caused a nationwide sensation in the United States, but casts a bleak light on the American justice system. When Thompson was finally found, it was a horrifying sight for those present. His body was littered with vermin and feces, according to photos released by attorney Harper.
Autopsy confirms “heavy insect infestation of the body”
A prison officer even refused to take life-prolonging measures, such as chest compressions, although that is the rule in such cases. The woman was shocked to see the completely neglected prisoner in the dilapidated cell.
An autopsy commissioned by authorities initially revealed that Thompson died under unclear circumstances. His family then had the body re-examined, this time by an independent pathologist – and he found a cause.
“Lashawn Thompson’s death was the result of extreme neglect, untreated schizophrenia, poor living conditions, poor hygiene, severe insect infestations, dehydration and rapid weight loss,” wrote physician Roger A. Mitchell Jr. in his autopsy report.
When Thompson was admitted to the detention center on June 12, he weighed 82 kilograms. At the first autopsy, which took place on September 14, he weighed only 67 kilograms. The prisoner died of thirst, starved to death and was “eaten by bed bugs,” as his lawyer said. “This man died in an unimaginable way,” said Ben Crump, another lawyer representing the family in the case.
All of this happened despite two correctional officers repeatedly warning prison authorities about the unbearable conditions in Thompson’s cell, according to the account. Five days before his death, they informed a superior that the prisoner was in poor health and needed medical treatment. Yet Thompson was apparently simply forgotten.
Authority acknowledges poor conditions in the detention center
As Insider magazine reports, Thompson is not the only dead in prison. According to this report, 15 inmates died in the Fulton County jail in 2022 alone, a strikingly high number that U.S. criminal defense attorney Sarah Flack considers “astronomical,” according to “Insider.”
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has now confirmed the problematic conditions at the facility, citing “dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowding, violent inmate clashes and infectious diseases” as the reasons for the high number of inmate deaths.
Thompson’s family is demanding that their loved one’s death be classified as homicide, those responsible held accountable and the detention center closed until conditions improve. (t-online, cc)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
