Lawyer: Man incarcerated at Fulton County Jail literally ‘eaten alive by insects and bed bugs’
(Lashawn Thompson’s Jail Cell, Image credit: Michael D. Harper Esq, The Harper Law Firm)
On April 13, malpractice lawyer Michael D. Harper, Esq. of the Harper Law Firm, along with family and supporters of Lashawn Thompson, an inmate who died at the Fulton County Jail on September 13, 2022, held a press conference on the courthouse steps of the Fulton County Superior Court located at 136 Pryor St. SW, in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the press conference was to call for the closure and replacement of the Fulton County Jail, and to request a criminal investigation into the death of Lashawn Thompson while he was an inmate at that facility.
According to the deceased inmate’s lawyer, Michael D. Harper, Thompson was arrested for misdemeanor simple battery on June 12, 2022, in Atlanta. After his arrest Thompson was remanded to the Fulton County Jail. After determining that Thompson had mental health issues, he was placed in the psychiatric wing of the Jail.
Three months later, Thompson was found dead in a filthy jail cell after his lawyer said that he had been “eaten alive by insects and bed bugs.”
Lashawn Thompson was slumped over in a cell at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta when a detention officer came to check on him in September. The cell was so dirty that a worker who entered it wore a safety suit designed to protect from hazardous materials, according to jail records. ~ The Washington Post
(Thompson’s Jail Cell, Image credit: Michael D. Harper Esq, The Harper Law Firm)
Jail records obtained via GA Open Records Requests establish that the detention offices and medical staff at the Jail noticed that Thompson’s health and physical condition were deteriorating, but did nothing to administer aid to him or to help him. “They literally watched his health decline until he died,” according to Harper.
When his body was found, one of the detention officers refused to administer CPR because in her words she “freaked out.” On the Harper Law Firm’s social media page, a disturbing photograph of Thompson’s insect-riddled body was shown that Ace News Today will not be sharing in this article.
According to a Fulton County Medical Examiner’s report obtained by USA TODAY, Thompson was found unresponsive in his jail cell Sept. 19, and pronounced dead after failed life-saving attempts by responding local police and medical personnel.
Thompson’s family approved photographs included in their legal team’s release, also shared in this article, depicting Thompson’s jail cell that was “not fit for a diseased animal,” according to Harper.
The deceased inmate’s lawyer went on to re-iterate that: “He did not deserve this. Someone has to be held accountable for his death. The Fulton County Jail must be closed and replaced.”
For more on this tragic and horrendous story, see the video accompanying this article.
Source: Michael D. Harper, Esq., The Harper Law Firm,
(470) 326-7361 / Mharper@mharperlaw.com
Lashawn Thompson cover photo, Image credit: Twitter
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
