‘Inhumane’ conditions at Georgia jail highlighted in man’s ‘horrific’ death, feds say
.JPG "Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, have reached an agreement with the Justice Department to address the conditions of the county’s jail, where Lashawn Thompson and other incarcerated individuals died, feds say. Thompson is seen in this provided photo.")
The Justice Department has reached an agreement with local officials to address “inhumane” conditions at the Fulton County, Georgia, jail, which were highlighted by the death of Lashawn Thompson and uncovered in a federal investigation that followed.
Thompson, 35, died after three months in the jail’s psychiatric wing in September 2022, McClatchy News previously reported.
He was “eaten alive” by insects inside a filthy cell, where his body was found “riddled” with bites, according to his family’s attorneys.
The Justice Department started investigating the jail in July 2023 after Thompson’s family called for changes and the facility’s closure.
A 97-page report released in November, based on the investigation, found individuals detained at the jail were at risk of violent attacks and faced excessive force, unsanitary conditions — including cells plagued with pests — and malnourishment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Those in custody faced these circumstances, as well as lack of medical and mental health care, before they were formally charged or went to trial, officials said.
“Detention in the Fulton County Jail amounted to a death sentence for dozens of people who have been murdered or who died as a result of inhumane conditions inside the facility,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
The division has entered into a “court-enforceable” agreement to resolve the investigation’s findings that the jail’s conditions were unconstitutional and violated federal disability laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Jan. 3 news release.
“We are encouraged that local officials have agreed to a plan that will begin to address the inhumane, unconstitutional conditions that were reflected in Lashawn Thompson’s horrific death,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The proposed consent decree still needs to be approved by the court.
Under the agreement, Fulton County has agreed to take several steps to improve the jail, including creating polices to protect incarcerated individuals from violence, improving “supervision and staffing,” providing better medical and mental health care, and developing a housekeeping and pest management plan, according to officials.
“This consent order is a roadmap to a better future for our facility, staff, and the individuals entrusted to our care,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said in a Jan. 3 news release.
The county needs the proper resources to make these changes, according to the sheriff’s office.
‘Neglected to death’
On the day of his death in September 2022, Thompson, who was unhoused and had a history of mental health conditions, was found “slumped over with his head on his toilet” inside his cell in the Fulton County Jail’s mental health unit, according to the Justice Department’s report.
Thompson was booked into the jail after he was arrested on simple battery charges in Atlanta on June 12, 2022, according to his family’s attorneys, McClatchy News previously reported.
An independent autopsy report reviewed by McClatchy News found Thompson was “neglected to death” and that dehydration, malnutrition and severe body insect infestation contributed to him dying.
Lice likely infested Thompson’s body for more than 28 days, according to the report. Lice live for about 24 to 28 days and “cannot live without blood,” the report said.
“Jail and healthcare staff were aware of lice infestations on this unit and poor living conditions before Mr. Thompson’s death,” the Justice Department’s report said.
In 2022, before Thompson died, another unhoused man with “serious mental illness” died after he was detained in the jail’s mental health unit, according to the Justice Department.
The man, who was booked into jail after officials said he broke into a building for “shelter and warmth,” stopped taking his medications in the mental health unit, the Justice Department’s report says.
This caused his health to decline, and he was found unresponsive in his cell, then died a month later in hospice, according to the report.
In the weeks after Thompson’s death, two men in the jail’s mental health unit were killed by cellmates, according to the Justice Department.
Including Thompson, the Justice Department said “altogether, these four Black men with serious mental health needs died in the Jail’s mental health unit in under a year.”
In August 2023, a settlement was reached with Fulton County over Thomspon’s death, according to a news release issued by attorney Ben Crump’s office.
The $4 million settlement was approved by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, USA Today reported.
The proposed consent decree
The 71-page proposed consent decree outlines several areas to improve the jail, including protecting inmates from harm; use of force; environmental health and nutrition; medical and mental health care; and restrictive housing.
The decree could be a model for jail and prison reforms in the U.S., according to Clarke.
“The proposed consent decree serves as a cooperative measure to address the grievous pattern of inhumane — and frequently violent — treatment of people in custody, along with the filthy and unsanitary living conditions they endure while awaiting formal charges or trials at the Fulton County Jail,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 12:45 PM with the headline "‘Inhumane’ conditions at Georgia jail highlighted in man’s ‘horrific’ death, feds say."
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