Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Jilly_in_VA

(10,877 posts)
Sun Apr 16, 2023, 10:33 AM Apr 2023

Man found dead eaten by bed bugs in Atlanta jail, lawyer says

An Atlanta man died in a local jail after being eaten alive by bed bugs, alleges a lawyer representing the man’s family.

The family of Lashawn Thompson, 35, is calling for a criminal investigation into Thompson’s death and for the closure and replacement of a local jail after alleging that Thompson died in custody from bed bugs in a squalid jail cell.

Thompson was incarcerated at the Fulton county Jail in Atlanta on a misdemeanor charge. Jail officials had placed Thompson in the facility’s psychiatric unit after determining that he had mental health issues, but noted that he was physically healthy.

On 13 September 2022, three months after being arrested, Thompson was discovered dead inside a dilapidated cell covered in grime and insects. The cell was so filthy that an employee wore a hazmat suit upon entering, the Washington Post reported.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/15/atlanta-jail-man-dead-eaten-bed-bugs

A mentally ill man arrested on misdemeanor charges is left long enough to DIE and be eaten at by bedbugs. What's wrong with this pictures?

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Man found dead eaten by bed bugs in Atlanta jail, lawyer says (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Apr 2023 OP
Cruel and unusual punishment. multigraincracker Apr 2023 #1
Let me guess .... the pro-life crowd is silent on this one? Diamond_Dog Apr 2023 #2
But of course Jilly_in_VA Apr 2023 #3
Only a shithole country would allow this. Sky Jewels Apr 2023 #4
Careful about throwing stones hueymahl May 2023 #8
I was about to say the same thing hueymahl Aug 2023 #9
bed bugs are fluid feeders-- they don't eat flesh mike_c Apr 2023 #5
Are you thinking of maggots? Jilly_in_VA Apr 2023 #6
bed bugs are hemipteran insects mike_c Apr 2023 #7

hueymahl

(2,644 posts)
8. Careful about throwing stones
Mon May 1, 2023, 11:45 AM
May 2023

Fulton County is run 100% by local Democrats, most of them highly competent. I imagine there is more to this story.

That said, it sounds horrific and those responsible should be held accountable.

hueymahl

(2,644 posts)
9. I was about to say the same thing
Sun Aug 27, 2023, 02:39 PM
Aug 2023

More or less. Without the highly competent part. Like the rest of society, cities run by those affiliated with the Democratic party have highly incompetent employees working. The Atlanta and Fulton County jail system is full of people who could not get a job anywhere else.

Jilly_in_VA

(10,877 posts)
6. Are you thinking of maggots?
Mon Apr 17, 2023, 09:25 AM
Apr 2023

Bedbugs most certainly do feast on you when you're alive. Also, if you read the article, it mentioned "other small insects".

mike_c

(36,332 posts)
7. bed bugs are hemipteran insects
Mon Apr 17, 2023, 02:13 PM
Apr 2023

The entire order is fluid feeding, exclusively. They have piercing, sucking mouth parts that cannot chew solid food of any kind. They do not feed from decomposing corpses. Imagine trying to chew with a straw. Maggots, on the other hand, are larval flies. They do eat flesh with modified mouth hooks derived from ancestral chewing mandibles. Flesh flies also lay their eggs on fresh corpses. They mostly consume dead flesh, colonizing it only after it's already deceased. The likelihood that this guy was killed by insects is virtually nil, and certainly not as suggested in the article.

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Georgia»Man found dead eaten by b...