A 24-year-old man died at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia after he was found unresponsive at Fulton County Jail, which is already being investigated by authorities for potential civil rights violations.
Shawndre Delmore was found unresponsive by a detention officer during a routine check around 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31, the county sheriff’s office said in a press release. Staff performed lifesaving measures on Delmore until professional medical staff arrived and he was taken to the hospital where he died Sunday, Sept. 3.
Delmore was being held at the jail on a $2,500 bond after being arrested on April 1 on a second-degree burglary charge, and is the sixth person to die since the end of July in the jail where former president Donald Trump was booked on racketeering charges. The sheriff’s office assured that the county medical examiner will perform an autopsy and there will be an investigation into Delmore’s death.
Delmore is one of a number of deaths within the last six weeks at the jail.
23-year-old Dayvion Blake died after being stabbed, and four others were injured due to a fight at the jail that occurred on Aug. 31.
“The recent outbreak of violence at the Fulton County Jail is of grave concern but unfortunately is not surprising considering the long-standing, dangerous overcrowding and the crumbling walls of the facility that are literally benign crafted into makeshift weapons that inmates use to attack each other and staff,” Sheriff Patrick Labat stated in a press release about the death.
34-year-old Samuel Lawrence died after being found unresponsive in his jail cell on Aug. 26.
66-year-old Alexander Hawkins was being held on a shoplifting charge with a $5,000 bond when he was found unresponsive in a medical unit cell on Aug. 17.
34-year-old Chrisopher Smith was also found unresponsive in a medical unit cell on Aug. 10 and died the next day at Grady Memorial Hospital.
40-year-old Montay Stinson was being held on a $3,000 bond after being arrested in October of 2022 on a second degree burglary charge. He was also found unresponsive in his cell on Jul. 31. According to a press release, Stinson was found with no obvious signs of injury.
The U.S. Department of Justice opened a federal civil rights investigation into jail conditions, as well as a death that occurred last year where a man’s body was found covered in insects.
35-year-old Lashawn Thompson died last September in Fulton County Jail’s psychiatric wing in a bedbug-infested cell. An autopsy done by his family found he died of severe neglect since then his family has reached a settlement with the county.
“Since taking office on January 1, 2021, I have been very transparent about the urgent need for replacement jail that uses smart technology and other common-sense cost saving measures that will relieve the dangerous overcrowding, improve security, provide humane detainment, and most importantly save lives,” Sheriff Labat continued.
