Fulton County, Georgia, has reached an agreement with the family of a man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in the county jail's psychiatric unit, the family's lawyers said Thursday.
Attorneys said settlement amounts in the Lashawn Thompson case were “undisclosed.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that Fulton commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a $4 million settlement, but said the exact terms of the agreement were not immediately disclosed.
Thompson, 35, died in September, three months after being booked into Atlanta's Fulton Prison. Attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Harper, who represent Thompson's family, said in a news release Thursday that the family has reached settlements with the county “and other undisclosed entities.”
Thompson's death attracted public attention in April after Harper posted photos of his face and body covered in insects. The U.S. Justice Department cited Thompson's death last month when it announced an investigation into prison conditions at Fulton.
The family is satisfied with the settlements, but the lawyers said in the statement that “we are far from the end of this road to complete justice.”
“We will continue to work with the Thompson family – and the community that stands behind them – to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens to another family or takes another life again,” the statement said. “Lashawn's life mattered, and together we can demand and motivate meaningful change in his name. That will be Lashawn Thompson's legacy.”
An independent autopsy released by the family in May said Thompson was “neglected to death.” An earlier report from the Fulton County coroner's office found no obvious signs of injury on Thompson's body but noted a “severe bed bug infestation.” The cause of death was listed as “undetermined.”
Justice Department investigators have announced they will investigate living conditions, access to medical and mental health care, excessive use of force by staff, and conditions that could lead to violence among inmates at Fulton Prison.
