Relatives of Lashawn Thompson, who died in the Fulton County Jail in September, have demanded county commissioners approve an internal investigation into their own oversight of the jail — and the failures that led to Thompson being covered in bed bugs at the time of his death.
Family members directed their comments to Fulton County commissioners during a meeting earlier this week.
“What happened to my brother was horrible,” said Shanita Thompson, Lashawn Thompson’s sister. “It should not have happened to no one.”
Thompson, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, had been in held for three months before he died in the jail’s psychiatric wing. His cause of death is undetermined, according to a Fulton County Medical Examiner report.
“He had bugs in his eyes, in his ears, in his nose, and he died with his eyes open. And we want justice,” Shanita Thompson said.
Brad McCrae, Lashawn Thompson’s younger brother, said someone should be held accountable for the death and asked what the county would do in response.
“My brother died so inhumanely … like roadkill,” McCrae said.
Thompson’s family got no direct response during the regular commission meeting’s public comment period. Commissioners don’t typically interact with speakers.
Thompson was arrested when Georgia Tech police found him sleeping in a park in Midtown. He was charged in 2019 with criminal trespassing in a campus parking deck and in 2020 with simple assault for allegedly spitting on a woman.
Harper said Thompson’s family lives in Florida and Alabama, and didn’t know he was in jail. They were looking for him even as he lay in a cell, he said.
Days after Thompson’s family called for the jail’s closure, Labat announced that Birmingham-based NaphCare would exit its agreement to provide inmate health care at the jail. Labat also asked for and got the resignations of chief jailer John Jackson and two assistant chief jailers.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick announced he would pay for an independent autopsy. Harper said the autopsy will take about two weeks and results will be made public.
After comments before commissioners about 20 people spoke outside the Fulton County Government Center.
A few held “Shut Down Fulton County Jail” and “Prosecute Sheriff Labat!” placards, bearing the Party for Socialism and Liberation name.
Family members wore “Justice for Lashawn Thompson” T-shirts. Several people held up pictures of Thompson, including while dead on the jail floor.
“They threw him in the psychiatric wing of the jail and left him there to die,” Harper said.
Jail records show Thompson was unable to care for himself, that jail staff saw his deterioration and did nothing, Harper said. The whole psychiatric wing was infested with bedbugs and lice, and plans to move Thompson were never carried out, he said.
McCrae said the family wants a detailed plan from the county on how Thompson’s death will be investigated and what changes will result.
Harper said Thompson’s relatives want to hear from county officials how their jail oversight failed.
“No one from Fulton County has reached out to the family,” he said.
County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said commissioners “publicly expressed their condolences” for Thompson’s death, along with approving $5.3 million for jail improvements. Corbitt said pending investigations and litigation constrain further comment.
Speeches from several activists diverged from what Thompson’s family and Harper are seeking.
Devin Barrington-Ward from the Communities Over Cages Campaign said his group has been asking commissioners to lessen incarceration since 2019. He and subsequent speakers have called for Labat’s resignation.
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