The lifeless body of a man covered in bedbugs, surrounded by peeling walls, rusty furniture, garbage, dirt, and other insects. Not even the most skilled horror director could have imagined the terrifying scene of the death of 35-year-old African-American Lashawn Thompson in a Georgia prison in the United States.
The family claims that the man, held in the psychiatric ward of the Atlanta prison, was "eaten alive" by bedbugs in a cell that "would not even have been suitable for a sick animal," and is demanding justice. The tragedy occurred in September, three months after Thompson's arrest on a misdemeanor charge.
Horror movie images released by victim's lawyer
But the horrific images were only released in recent days by the family's lawyer Michael D. Harper, who has no doubts: "Lashawn was eaten alive by the bedbugs and other insects that populated his filthy cell ." The lawyer maintains that prison records show that guards and doctors were aware that the man's health was deteriorating but did not intervene.
And the coroner's report states that his cell in the psychiatric ward had a "severe bedbug infestation," even though the cause of death is listed as "undetermined ." According to experts, bedbug bites are usually not fatal, but these parasites feed on human blood and, over time, can cause anemia and death.
The Fulton County sheriff has admitted that the jail is overcrowded and that its "dilapidated and extremely degrading" conditions are well known. Just a year ago, the Southern Center for Human Rights published a report titled "An uncontrolled lice and scabies outbreak has left Fulton jail inmates dangerously malnourished."
The analysis paints a terrifying picture of all the problems plaguing the facility and recommends a series of recommendations, evidently ignored, to "contain future outbreaks" and improve "hygiene practices."
The prison administration has ensured an investigation into the circumstances of Thompson's death and has immediately allocated $500.000 to stop the infestation of bedbugs, lice and other insects. Overcrowded prisons, where inmates live in unsanitary conditions, malnourished, in suffocating spaces and extremely violent environments, is a problem throughout the United States, from California to Illinois.
According to several prisoner rights organizations, the U.S. has the largest prison population in the world, at 2 million, and more than 113 million Americans have had a close relative arrested and incarcerated.
