we will also demand the jail is closed down in the fulton county builds a new jail.e calling the department of justice in washington to launch a civil rights vest occasion into the jail as well. there will be other community leaders, naacp of georgia, a lot of community leaders. this is our jail and fulton county and we have to make change. amy: we want to thank you all so much for being with us. michael harper, the lawyer for lashawn thompson's family. and lashawn thompson's family, sister shenita thompson speaking to us from winterhaven, florida, and his brother brad, speaking to us from montgomery, alabama. our condolences to you both. next up, as a new study finds poverty is the fourth leading cause of death in the united states, we speak to the pulitzer prize-winning writer matthew desmond, his new book "poverty, by america." stay with us. ♪♪ [music break] amy: "say a little prayer" by gregg brown. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. republican house speaker kevin mccarthy has proposed increasin

criminal investigation to be place and done into thompson's death, also for the current jail , fulton county jailatlanta is in fulton county for that jail to be closed and for a new one to be built in its place here what the family had to say. it's an inexcusable death. it is an outrage, and we call them all the citizens of fulton county to demand better and to demand a new jail. it was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. nobody should see that. but the first thing that entered my mind was emmett till i thought about emmett to comparing those photos. it was heartbreaking. we did reach out to the fulton county sheriff's office and received a statement from them where they mentioned that they cannot speak because of the law about thompson's health or what decisions he made regarding his right to accept or refuse medical care. but they did acknowledge the quote, dilapidated and rapidly eroding conditions at the jail. saying in part in the statement without making any explicit statements about mr thompson's health. it is fair to say that this is one of many cases that illustrate th

it is an outrage, and we call on all the citizens of 14 county to demand better and to demand the new jail. so we did have hear back from the fulton county sheriff's office who say that they are prohibited by law from revealing too much about thompson's health issues. or they say what decisions he made regarding his right to accept or to refuse medical care. now we have this statement from them were they say that the share off patrick laban also wants a new jail and they say this in the statement without making any explicit statements about mr thompson's health. it is fair to say that this is one of many cases that illustrate the desperate need for expanded and better mental health services. this is precisely why sheriff labadie continues to call building for building a new fulton county jail and criminal justice complex. it is also very important to note that we cnn we reviewed documents from the fulton county medical examiner's office, where they listed the cause and the manner of death. for thompson as undetermined, so they don't have that information . now. what about any corroboration coming from the fulton county authorities

criminal investigation to be placed and done into thompson's death, also for the current jail fulton county jail atlanta is in fulton county for that jail to be closed and for a new one to be built in its place here what the family had to say. it's an inexcusable death. it is an outrage, and we call them all the citizens of 14 county to demand better and to demand a new jail. it was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. nobody should see that. but the first thing that entered my mind was emmett till i thought about emmett to comparing those photos. it was heartbreaking without making any explicit statements about mr thompson's health. it is fair to say that this is one of many cases that illustrate the desperate need for expanded and better mental health services. this is precisely why sheriff labadie continues to call building for building a new fulton county jail and criminal justice complex. now it is also important to note that we did review documents from the fulton county medical examiner's office. that listed thompson's cause and manner of death as undetermined. isabelle

county jail and criminal justice complex. it's also very important to mention here that based on documents that we reviewed from the fulton county medical examiner's office that the cause and manner of death has not been determined in this case, all right, isabel rozelle's thanks so much alright, coming up sons of the notorious drug lord el chapo are facing charges from the doj in their crackdown on the deadly influx of fentanyl into the us what we know about this rolling justice department indictment. subway keeps up in the game with the subway series on all star mean you're delicious subs likee number four supreme meets black forest ham and genoa. salami can't stop that much meat. you can only hope to contain it and freshly baked bread. subways tas as menu upgrade yet allergies don't have to be scary. defea allergy headaches fast with new felonies, headache and allergy relief to pills relieve allergy headache, pain congestion that causes it. headache and allergy relief. all good. when i was young, my father said, always be excellent. no one may tear it down and excellent fringe meat. quite a remarkable man. antoinette queen of

now this particular jail, the fulton county jail, it had 10 deaths inside of it in the year of 2022. and it was reported that 100 percent of the people being held in the jail had either lice, scabies, or both. that's the sanitary, or rather unsanitary conditions that exist in u. s. jails. now when you look at the details of what happens and in many cases the people that are held in these horrendous conditions end up dying as a result have never even been before a judge been convicted of a crime, they're simply arrested and held waiting trial often these are people with mental health conditions who been arrested out of you know, concerned for the safety of others of themselves are regardless when you look at the details that are just utterly horrendous, about these conditions in which people's lives are taken and grisly. disgusting ways. it raises questions about what moral authority the united states has to go around lecturing the world about human rights and condemning other countries. taylor many thanks to fitness. the details of this horrific. sorry. what is it caleb open? thank ah

amy: several top officials at the fulton county jail in georgia have resigned after a

this case really stood out to me 35 year old man who died last september and atlanta's fulton county jailmid horrific conditions of filth and insects . this has made international news you call his death, a human rights violation. i mean, when you look at these pictures, it's just i mean, it is. it's shocking to see this. um what are your next steps in this case? you know, attorney michael harper and out we are focused on making sure that they can't sweep this under the rug. this happened in september, and it wasn't until these pictures were released that is finally getting attention. his family has been crying out for help us to what happened. i mean, he had 1000. bedbug bites over his body. he had bedbugs in his mouth and his nose and his eyes and his ears. i mean, this is a person who has a mental health issue and not a hardened criminal and the thanks , tyne county jail officials and the medical examiner trying to say it's undetermined. what killed him where we can just see from the pictures were killed them, but thank god colin kaepernick foundation is going to pay for the family to

in atlanta, georgia, protesters rallied outside the fulton county jail on thursday demanding the closure of the 11 story, 1300 bed facility, demanding justice for sean thompson, the 35-year-old black man who was being held in the jail's psychiatric wing was eaten alive by insects and bedbugs in his cell last week. civil rights lawyer benjamin crump reports former nfl quarterback and activist colin kaepernick has agreed to pay for an independent autopsy of thompson's body. meanwhile, the 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 was to tiffany roberts of the seven center for human rights said "how long will we hide from the reality that fulton county is chronically dysfunctional and there is no humidity in a system like this?" to see our broadcast exclusive interview with the family attorney as well as lashawn thompson's brother and sister, go to democracynow.org. oklahoma's court of criminal appeals has denied the latest r

back in the united states in georgia, over 600 prisoners are being transferred from the fulton county jailafter the family of a dead prisoner says he was eaten alive by insects and bedbugs in his cell last year. the family of 35-year-old lashawn thompson, who was being held in the jail's psychiatric wing, is demanding a criminal investigation and that the jail be shut down. the u.s. marked another deadly weekend of gun violence. in the small town of dadeville, alabama, a shooter opened fire in a room of teenagers celebrating at a sweet 16 birthday party, killing four people and injuring 28 others. one of the victims was star student athlete phil dowdell, who was remembered by a coach and teacher at his high school. >> great student athlete. not only did he win -- excuse me. not only did he win the 100, 200 last year, but he set goals to go -- always had a smile on his face. amy: elsewhere, a shooter opened fire on a crowd of hundreds in a louisville, kentucky park, killing two. this came as louisville is still reeling from the mass shooting at a bank last monday that claimed five lives. a

jail time. but trump continues to b vulnerable in a few othe pending criminal cases, fo which he could be indicted and potentially convicted. in georgia, we're stil awaiting a decision for fulton county, the district eternal they're fani willis, on whethe to press charges in he investigation into electio interference in the 2020 presidential race. the special grand jury in this instance issued its fina report back in january in georgia, special gran jury's do not have the power t indict but attlee - who served at the foreperson has,, said, in, subsequent interviews, but the specia grand jury recommended indictments for more than dozen people when asked whether tha included the former president, xi told nbc news quote potentially it might but finally, there's jack smith, the justice department special counsel. he is handling the federal investigations related to th efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in the weeks leadin up to next week. and the classified documents inquiry. there's been major development this week that will move his investigation along. despite initially fighting smith subpoena, former president mike pence says he will now comply with the

jail time but trump continues to b vulnerable in a few othe pending criminal cases for which he could be indicted and potentially convicted. down in georgia, still awaitin a decision from the fulton county district attorney, fani willis, on whether to pres charges in her investigation into election interference int the 2020 presidential race willis has previously informed several people that they are targets of the investigation including trump's former personal lawyer, rudy giuliani and david schaffer, the head o the georgia republican party the special grand jury in that instance issued its fina report back in january now, in georgia, special grand juries do not have the power t indict but emily kohrs, served as the foreperson of that grand jur said in subsequent interview that the panel had recommended indictments for more than dozen people and when asked whether tha included the former president, xi told nbc news, quote, potentially, it might. and finally, there is jack smith, the justice departmen special counsel, he's handling the federal investigations tha are related to the efforts t overturn the results of th 2020 presidential election i the weeks leading up to januar 6th. and