USA: Inmate neglected to death in prison cell

Malnourished, dehydrated, eaten by lice: a prisoner suffering from schizophrenia died "due to gross negligence" in a prison in Atlanta, in the American South, according to the result of the forensic report released yesterday.

Lasson Thompson, a 35-year-old homeless man, was taken into custody last June by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for spitting on a police officer.

On September 13, he was found dead, boneless, covered in extreme filth and his body covered in insects in a cell in the psychiatric ward of the local jail.

The official coroner's examination ruled the cause of death of the man, who suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, to be "indeterminate".

Thanks to money made available by football player Colin Kaepernick, one of the protagonists of the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and police brutality, his family was able to hire an independent medical examiner to conduct his own investigation.

Lawson Thompson died of "complications caused by gross negligence," according to Coroner Roger Mitchell's report.

Arriving in prison, Lasson Thompson was prescribed medication for schizophrenia, but it appears that for at least the last 43 days of his life he had not taken it, hastening his path to death as he was unable to eat, drink or to be washed without treatment.

At the time of his death, he weighed 15 kilograms less, was dehydrated and covered in a layer of dirt, according to the coroner.

His body harbored an incalculable number of insects, which had also entered his mouth and nose, and he had multiple bites on his arms and legs, according to the medical examiner's report, which considers it possible that the lice caused his anemia.

Ultimately, it resulted from cardiac arrhythmia, but that was not the natural cause of his death. "Lason Thompson was neglected to the point of death," the coroner's report of homicide claims.

During a press conference, the family's lawyer stated that the cell had become a torture chamber. "Somebody has to hold their relatives accountable," he said.

"Someone has to be held accountable for what happened to my nephew," said Caro Thompson.

So far, no lawsuit has been filed.

According to local press, the county sheriff recently received the family of Lasson Thompson and accepted the resignations of two correctional officers. The sheriff did not respond to AFP's request for comment on the coroner's report.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ-AFP