The state of American prisons is hardly a topic American presidents like to talk about. Last night, an ex-president got an insight into how detainees are doing. Donald Trump says he was shocked by the conditions in the Fulton County Jail, and he was only making a short trip when he was arrested and released. Others cannot afford to pay bail. Some die while awaiting trial. – The conditions there were shameful. It’s worse than you can imagine. It is violent. The building is falling apart, Trump wrote in an email he sent to campaign contributors. This picture of Donald Trump is historic. Never before has a so-called “mugshot” been taken of a former US president. Photo: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office / Reuters – Looked like a death chamber Three years ago, the Fulton County Jail issued a press release stating that the prison in the American southern city of Atlanta achieved 100 percent on a survey of the health conditions behind the walls. Earlier this year, the big reports in the American media after an inmate died in his cell. According to the family, he was found with over 1,000 insect bites. – The room looked like a death chamber, said his brother Brad McCrae, according to the BBC. The case is not unique. Six people have died in the Fulton County jail system this year. In the United States, many sit in detention for weeks, months and sometimes years, waiting for their case to come to court. They cannot afford to be released on bail. These prisons are often far tougher than the prisons they are sent to in the event of a conviction. Prison crisis There are around 1.2 million inmates in US prisons, according to the Ministry of Justice. Several interest organizations are working to improve conditions behind the walls. The Equal Justice Initiative says that there are far too many cases of violence, corruption and inadequate health care. – There is a crisis in American prisons, writes EJI. Following the death of Lashawn Thompson, three employees were asked to resign, according to CNN. Earlier in August, his family was awarded compensation of over NOK 40 million, writes USA Today. – Not worthy of a dead animal According to the family of Lashawn Thompson, the prison cell he ended up in was far from tidy. – The conditions had not even been worthy of a dead animal. This is unacceptable, said lawyer Michael Harper. Attorney Harper said that 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson was charged in a violent case and had been in custody for three months when he died. He was in the psychiatric ward. Human rights lawyer Ben Crump says over 1,000 bite marks were found on Thompson’s body, and that there were insects in his mouth, ears and nose. The family of Lashawn Thompson is reacting strongly to the treatment he received in prison. Photo: Law firm Harper Sounded the alarm a year ago The lawyers say that the record shows that the employees saw that Thompson’s condition was worsening, but that they still did nothing. – They saw that his health got worse, until he died. When he was found, the prison officer did not want to carry out CPR, because she “freaked out”, as she herself describes it, says Harper. Sheriff Patrick Labat sounded the alarm about conditions in the prison during a meeting last year, writes CBS. He said that there were 3,600 inmates then, after 1,400 new ones had arrived over the course of two years. 428 inmates slept on mattresses on the floor, as they lacked beds. The prison was built in 1985 to accommodate 1,300 people. Elsewhere in the state of Georgia, accused persons are often released pending the case, if they are not considered a danger to society or there is a risk of tampering with evidence or flight – as in Norway. But in Fulton County, they are detained. As long as they can’t pay bail, like Donald Trump and the others who are accused of trying to change the election results in the state of Georgia.
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Inmate was found dead with 1,000 bite marks in the prison where Donald Trump was arrested – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
