A schizophrenic inmate, Lashawn Thompson, a 35-year-old homeless African-American man, died of “gross neglect,” malnourished, dehydrated and lice-ridden in a prison in the southern United States, a report shows. autopsies, reports AFP, according to News.ro.
Lashawn Thompson was taken into custody in June by the Fulton County, Georgia, sheriff’s office after spitting on an officer.
On September 13, he was found dead – emaciated, extremely dirty and full of insects – in a cell in the psychiatric wing of the local jail.
An official autopsy determined that the causes of death were “undetermined,” based on “schizophrenic and bipolar disorders.”
With the help of funds paid by the football player Colin Kaepernick, very involved in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to fight against racism and police brutality, his family commissioned an independent medical examiner to find out more.
Lashawn Thompson died of “complications caused by gross negligence,” Dr. Roger Mitchell concluded in the report, published Monday.
According to Roger Mitchell, Lashawn Thomson was prescribed medication to control his schizophrenia when he arrived at the prison, but he did not receive it for at least 43 days, which led to other problems because he was unable to eat, drink or wash – no treatment.
At the time of his death, he weighed 15 kilograms less than when he arrived at the prison, he was dehydrated and covered by a layer of dirt, the doctor states.
There were “a large number of insects” on his body – including in his nose and mouth – and he had “multiple bites on his arms and legs”, states the doctor, who estimates that the large number of lice may have caused him an anemia.
“Lashawn Thompson was neglected to death,” he writes, calling his death a “homicide.”
The lawyer of the young man’s family, Ben Crump, denounced, in a press conference, the fact that the cell has become a “torture chamber”.
“Somebody has to answer to his relatives,” he said.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable for what happened to my nephew,” said the deceased’s uncle, Karo Thompson.
But no complaint has been filed at this stage.
The local press writes that the county sheriff recently received the family and accepted the resignations of two prison managers.
Contacted by AFP, the sheriff did not immediately react after the publication of the autopsy.
Editor : R.K.
