Schizophrenic inmate's death is ruled a homicide caused by neglect after he was ... trends now
A man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in a Georgia jail's psychiatric wing 'died due to severe neglect,' according to an independent autopsy released Monday by lawyers for his family.
The autopsy was paid for by the Autopsy Initiative of the Know Your Rights Camp, an initiative started by former NFL star and activist Colin Kaepernick.
Lashawn Thompson, 35, died in September, three months after he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Public outrage over his death spread last month after a lawyer for his family, Michael Harper, released photos of Thompson's face and body covered in insects.
A combination of dehydration, rapid weight loss and malnutrition, complicated by untreated decompensated schizophrenia led to a fatal cardiac arrythmia, the report says.
LaShawn Thompson (pictured), a man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in a Georgia jail's psychiatric wing 'died due to severe neglect,' according to an independent autopsy released Monday by lawyers for his family
'Mr. Thompson was neglected to death,' says the autopsy report written by Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., a former chief medical examiner in Washington, D.C., who is now a professor and chair of the pathology department at Howard University College of Medicine.
The independent autopsy report lists the cause of death as 'Complications due to Severe Neglect,' with 'Untreated Decompensated Schizophrenia' identified as a contributing cause.
Because he did not receive necessary medical care or adequate food, water and shelter, his manner of death is homicide, Mitchell wrote.
An earlier report from the Fulton County medical examiner's office found no obvious signs of trauma on Thompson's body but noted a 'severe bed bug infestation.' It lists his cause of death as 'undetermined.'
The new autopsy 'confirms that this is one of the most deplorable in-custody deaths in the history of America,' said prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family.
The family's lawyers and advocates gave credit to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, who has publicly called Thompson's death 'absolutely unconscionable.'
They called on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to take responsibility and act quickly to fix the problems at the jail and urged the district attorney's office to bring criminal charges.
Lawyers also called on Gov. Brian Kemp to address a 'mental health crisis' in the state.
A report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office noted a 'severe bed bug infestation'
