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April 21, 2023

Colin Kaepernick to Fund Autopsy of Lashawn Thompson; Protesters Demand Closure of Fulton Co. Jail
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In Atlanta, Georgia, protesters rallied outside the Fulton County Jail
Thursday demanding the closure of the 11-story, 1,300-bed facility, and
demanding justice for Lashawn Thompson. The 35-year-old, who was being
held in the jail's psychiatric wing, was "eaten alive" by insects and
bedbugs in his cell last year, according to Thompson's family. Civil
rights lawyer Ben Crump reports former NFL quarterback and activist
Colin Kaepernick has agreed to pay for an independent autopsy of
Thompson's body. Meanwhile, Fulton County commissioners have approved $5
million in funding for emergency improvements to the jail. Thompson's
family and local activists are calling on the Department of Justice to
launch an investigation. Tiffany Roberts of the Southern Center for
Human Rights said, "How long will we hide from the reality that Fulton
County is chronically dysfunctional and there is no humanity in a system
like this?" Click here to see our Democracy Now! broadcast exclusive
interview with the family attorney, as well as Lashawn Thompson's
brother and sister.


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