Georgia man 'eaten alive' by bed bugs at county jail

A man died at an Atlanta jail after he was “eaten alive by insects and bed bugs,” according to a family attorney. 

LaShawn Thompson, 35, was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta on June 12, 2021, and was taken to the Fulton County Jail although he had not yet been convicted. He was placed in the psychiatric wing after officers determined he had mental issues. 

Thompson had been in jail for three months when one day he was found dead inside his cell on September 13.

“What Mr. Thompson was housed in was not fit for a diseased animal,” said attorney Michael D. Harper, adding that it was one of the most “inhumane” deaths he had ever seen. “He did not deserve this.”

According to records obtained by Thompson’s family, detention officers, and medical staff at the jail had noticed his health deteriorating but did not help him. On one occasion, a detention officer refused to administer CPR after she saw Thompson’s body full of bed bugs and insect bites. 

“They literally watched his health decline until he died,” his family said in a statement.

A report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office marked Thompson’s cause of death as “undetermined,” but added that there were no signs of trauma. However, the report included a “severe bed bug infestation.”

“Someone has to be held accountable for his death. The Fulton County Jail must be closed and replaced,” Harper said.

The Fulton County Jail has had previous outbreaks of scabies and lice, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights.

“According to documents obtained through an open records request, medical professionals brought in to assess the September outbreak found that 100 percent of the people held in one unit had either lice, scabies and or both,” the organization stated.