The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta unconstitutionally subjects inmates to “inhumane, violent and hazardous conditions” that threaten their safety, a US Justice Department official said Thursday, announcing the results of a 16-month investigation.

In September 2022, Lashawn Thompson died alone in a squalid cell in the mental health unit of the Fulton County Jail. Thompson, a man with a documented history of mental illness and homelessness, was initially arrested for spitting at a Georgia Tech police officer and held on a simple battery charge related to an old warrant.

The Justice Department has found that egregious conditions at Georgia’s Fulton County Jail — including pest infestation, malnourishment, a lack of adequate medical care and rampant violence that contributed to multiple deaths — violate the constitutional rights of people in custody.