Lashawn Thompson, Inmate Who Died In ATL Jail, Suffered 1K Bug Bites

ATLANTA, GA — A former NFL player will pay for an independent autopsy after Lashawn Thompson, an inmate at the Fulton County Jail, died covered in bug bites while in custody, the family announced Thursday at a news conference.

Thompson died in September 2022 after being incarcerated for three months, Attorney Michael Harper, co-counsel for the family, said. He had moved to Atlanta from Winter Haven, Florida, in June 2022.

Family Attorney Ben Crump said the autopsy will be paid for by former NFL player and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick. He said Thompson suffered more than 1,000 bug bites on his body while in custody.

"Lashawn Thompson died with his eyes open," Harper said. "He was in pain. He suffered. He suffered for months."

Harper accused jailers of declining to assist Thompson before devising a plan to transfer Thompson to a medical unit. However, the plan never came to fruition because Harper said jailers found Thompson dead.

Both the Atlanta Police Department and the sheriff's office are investigating the case, then case files will be turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

Harper said the Department of Justice contacted him for his case files relating to the death so an investigation can be completed.

"We won't pass the baton," Crump said. "We want justice for Lashawn. ... Somebody is responsible for this inhumane death that never should have happened. When you think about it, it's not only inhumane, it's not only immoral, but ... it's criminal."

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff requested Thursday that the U.S. Attorney General's Office determine if the death of Thompson was criminal, both Crump and Harper said.

The Fulton County Jail has been under scrutiny for conditions critics and Crump have called "deplorable." Crump also called Thompson's jail cell a "crime scene." Thompson's brother, Brad, called the jail cell a "death chamber" and a "torture chamber."

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat spoke at the conference, saying he wish Thompson was allowed due process.

"This is not about me," he said, embracing Thompson's aunt and noting he has prayed with the family.. "This is not about the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. This is about Mr. Thompson. This is about his family. ... If holding people accountable was a crime, I'd be guilty every day."

Labat announced Monday in a news release that he has requested and accepted the resignations of the chief jailer, assistant chief jailer and assistant chief jailer in the criminal investigations division during the weekend. He said changes are coming to the county jail.

He told reporters Thursday the jailers assigned to oversee Thompson's care were initially given the chance to be on administrative leave for less than 24 hours before resignations were accepted. He said two of the jailers with years of service chose to retire while a third jailer was not able to do so.

Labat attended Monday a Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting and requested $2 billion for the construction of a new jail. According to the sheriff's office in a brief news release, the board approved more than $5.3 million in emergency funding that authorities said will address the needs of the jail.

Labat can be seen speaking to the commissioners in a Facebook video posted here.

"(Labat) would like to thank the Fulton County Board of Commissioners for approving the emergency funding required in order to address urgent safety and health concerns at the Fulton County Jail," authorities said in the release.

At the Thursday news conference, Labat said $500,000 was recently spent on decontamination of the jail. He said the board allowed $50,000 to be allocated toward clinically cleaning the jail's mental health and medical units twice a month.

"We want to know what a path forward looks like and look at what the board approved to include emergency management services to help us continue to make sure we do the right thing from a perspective of taking care of what Attorney Crump said the least of these," Labat said.

"This is an important fact - it's something that we need to understand, if not to admit to ourselves - the jails have become the mental health facilities across the state, and it is absolutely unacceptable."

Harper said currently there are no plans to sue the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.