A 35-year-old man in Atlanta, Georgia, was reportedly eaten alive by insects while he was incarcerated inside a filthy jail cell at the Fulton Country Jail.
The incident happened back in September 2022, and his family is currently seeking justice, calling for criminal investigations into his death.
USA Today reported that the deceased, 35-year-old LaShawn Thompson was in jail for a misdemeanour charge and was admitted to the Fulton County Jail’s psychiatric wing after being judged to be mentally ill.
His body was subsequently found on 19 September inside the dirty jail cell.
The Washington Post reported that Thompson’s jail cell was so filthy that a worker who entered the cell had to wear a hazardous materials safety suit.
The cause of the man’s death could not be determined during an autopsy, with the accompanying police report into his death describing an “extremely severe” infestation of small insects across his body along with several cuts from picking his skin repeatedly.
The Thompson family’s lawyer, Michael Harper, said that Thompson’s death was caused by the insect infestations and that he was eaten alive by the bed bugs and insects.
The police have since launched a full investigation into Thompson’s death upon the family’s request, and his jail cell was found to be covered in lice and filth when his body was found, according to police reports.
The detention offices and medical staff at the jail also noted that Thompson’s health was getting worse ar the time but they did nothing to help him, according to jail records.
And when one police officer found Thompson’s body, they initially refused to perform CPR on him because they had “freaked out”.
The Thompson family wants someone to be held accountable for his death, as well as wants to close and replace the existing Fulton County jail.
The Fulton Country’s sheriff office is also currently in the midst of investigating the incident, and has committed about US$500,000 to address the insect infestations.
Images source: USA Today