Top jail staff forced out after man’s death at Georgia jail

ATLANTA — A Georgia sheriff on Monday announced the resignations of top jail staff amid an investigation into the death of a man in a bedbug-infested cell in the jail’s psychiatric wing. Photos from Thompson’s filthy cell spread across social media last week and prompted widespread outrage, including from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, which tweeted, “the word inhumane doesn’t suffice in describing the way #LashawnThompson’s life was disregarded and degraded in a Fulton County jail.” At a meeting over the weekend, Labat asked for and received the resignations of the chief jailer, assistant chief jailer and assistant chief jailer in the criminal investigative division, the release said. A lawyer for Thompson’s family last week said jail staff did nothing to address Thompson’s deteriorating health in the weeks before his death, and he called for a criminal investigation. The medical examiner’s report lists the cause of death as “undetermined” but notes a “severe bed bug infestation.” Nationally known civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump announced Monday that he had been hired to join Harper in representing Thompson’s family. In addition to staffing changes, the sheriff’s office said it is reviewing legal options to change medical vendors, looking to contract with a provider that can “effectively, consistently and compassionately deliver the best standard of care.” The sheriff’s office said it also spent $500,000 on emergency measures in September to address the infestation of “bed bugs, lice and other vermin.” Additionally, 673 detainees are currently housed in other jails at an average cost of $47,000 a day, and the sheriff’s office continues to try to transfer other detainees out of the jail to further ease crowding, the release said.