ATLANTA (AP) 鈥 Georgia鈥檚 Fulton County has reached a settlement with the family of a man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in the county jail鈥檚 psychiatric wing, the family鈥檚 lawyers said Thursday.
Lashawn Thompson, 35, died in September, three months after he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Attorneys Ben Crump and Michael Harper, who represent Thompson's family, said in a news release Thursday that the family has reached settlements with the county 鈥渁nd other unidentified entities.鈥
Thompson's death gained public attention in April after Harper released photos of his face and body covered in insects. The U.S. Department of Justice cited Thompson's death last month when into jail conditions in Fulton County.
The family is satisfied with the settlements, but the lawyers said in the statement that 鈥渨e are nowhere near the end of this journey to full justice.鈥
鈥淲e will continue to work with the Thompson family 鈥撯 and the community that rallied behind them 鈥撯 to ensure that a tragedy like this one never happens to another family or takes one more life,鈥 the statement says. "Lashawn鈥檚 life mattered, and together, we can demand and motivate significant change in his name. That will be the legacy of Lashawn Thompson.鈥
The lawyers said the settlements are for 鈥渦ndisclosed amounts.鈥 Tuesday that Fulton County commissioners on Wednesday voted to approve a $4 million settlement but said detailed terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.
An released by the family in May said Thompson 鈥渨as neglected to death.鈥 An earlier report from the Fulton County medical examiner鈥檚 office found no obvious signs of trauma on Thompson鈥檚 body but noted a 鈥渟evere bed bug infestation.鈥 It listed his cause of death as 鈥渦ndetermined.鈥
Department of Justice investigators plan to look at living conditions, access to medical and mental health care, use of excessive force by staff and conditions that may give rise to violence between people held in Fulton County jails, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department鈥檚 Civil Rights Division said last month when announcing the federal investigation.
