Family attorney says man with mental illness was 'eaten alive' by bed bugs at Fulton County Jail

fulton county jail
The family of Lashawn Thompson said he died in the Fulton County Jail under brutal conditions and are demanding it be shut down. (Jasmine Robinson/WABE)

The family of a 35-year-old Black man who died at the Fulton County Jail says they want the facility shut down and replaced.

Meanwhile, Fulton County officials have already started planning for a new $2 billion jail almost four times the size of the overcrowded facility on Rice Street.

Lashawn Thompson is a 35-year-old man who died at the Fulton County Jail in September 2022. His family says they want the facility to be shut down after he was found covered in bed bugs. (Courtesy of Attorney Michael Harper)

At a press conference across the street from the Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, April 13, Lashawn Thompson’s family said he was suffering from mental illness when he died under brutal conditions.