Georgia inmate dead after incarceration

admin August 13, 2023August 13, 2023

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A Georgia inmate who was discovered unresponsive in a medical unit cell at a jail at the moment underneath federal investigation died at a hospital quickly after he was transferred, authorities mentioned Saturday.

Medical personnel resuscitated Christopher Smith 34, after he was discovered at Fulton County Jail by a detention officer Thursday. He was later transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and pronounced lifeless early Friday, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned in a information launch.

Smith had been in custody since Oct. 6, 2019, and was being held with out bond on a number of unspecified felony and misdemeanor prices, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. Authorities mentioned the county’s Medical Examiner’s Workplace will conduct an post-mortem to find out the reason for dying.

The incident comes after county officers accepted a $4 million settlement earlier this month for the household of a person who died at Fulton County Jail in September 2022.

LASHAWN THOMPSON CASE:$4 million settlement for family of man who died covered in bug bites at Georgia jail

Federal probe after 2022 dying

LaShawn Thompson, 35, was housed within the psychiatric wing of the Fulton County Jail after a June 2022 arrest on a misdemeanor battery cost in Atlanta. Native officers mentioned Thompson had recognized psychological well being points.

Three months later, he was present in his cell dehydrated and malnourished, and his physique “was infested in and out with bugs,” in accordance with attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Harper. An impartial post-mortem later decided that Thompson died as a consequence of “extreme neglect” from jail employees,

Lawyer Ben Crump learn by a number of parts of the report, which discovered Thompson had “innumerable” bug bites and was not receiving treatment for schizophrenia on the time of his dying. He additionally suffered from poor residing circumstances, poor grooming, dehydration, and fast weight reduction, in accordance with the report released in May.

The coroner’s report listed Thompson’s reason behind dying as undetermined. The report mentioned there have been no apparent indicators of trauma on Thompson’s physique, however his total physique was coated in mattress bugs. It additionally famous a “extreme mattress bug infestation” within the cell.

Following Thompson’s dying, county commissioners accepted $5.3 million for inmate well being monitoring, cameras, and different jail upgrades in April. The incident additionally spurred the Division of Justice to open a civil investigation into Fulton County Jail earlier this yr to find out whether or not there’s a observe or sample of constitutional violations in opposition to incarcerated folks.

Kristen Clarke, assistant legal professional common of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division, mentioned the division will examine residing circumstances, entry to medical care and psychological well being care, use of extreme pressure by employees, and circumstances which will give rise to violence between folks incarcerated on the facility, in addition to whether or not the jail discriminates in opposition to incarcerated folks with psychiatric circumstances.

The extent of violence within the jail is “deeply regarding,” she mentioned. At one level in 2022, the jail averaged multiple stabbing per day, and a latest search by the sheriff’s workplace uncovered greater than 200 weapons inside the principle facility, she mentioned.

Incidents at Fulton County Jail

In response to Clarke, there have been three suspected homicides on the predominant jail final yr, and, in a single case, the sufferer’s physique was reportedly hid for hours earlier than being discovered. “Inmates are actually crafting shanks from the crumbling partitions of the dilapidated facility,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat mentioned earlier this yr.

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