ATLANTA (ABC7) -- A man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in a Georgia jail's psychiatric wing "died due to severe neglect," according to an independent autopsy released Monday by lawyers for his family.

Lashawn Thompson, 35, died in September, 3 months after he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Public outrage over his death spread last month after a lawyer for his family, Michael Harper, released photos of Thompson's face & body covered in insects.

The independent autopsy report lists the cause of death as "Complications due to Severe Neglect," with "Untreated Decompensated Schizophrenia" identified as a contributing cause.

A combination of dehydration, rapid weight loss & malnutrition, complicated by untreated decompensated schizophrenia led to a fatal cardiac arrythmia, the report says. Because he did not receive necessary medical care or adequate food, water & shelter, his manner of death is homicide.

An earlier report from the Fulton County medical examiner's office found no obvious signs of trauma on Thompson's body but noted a "severe bed bug infestation." It lists his cause of death as "undetermined."

The new autopsy "confirms that this is one of the most deplorable in-custody deaths in the history of America," said prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family.

Thompson had lost 32 pounds, or about 18% of his body weight, during his 3 months at the Fulton County Jail & showed evidence of dehydration, the report says. In addition to an "innumerable number of insects" all over his body, his hands, feet, fingernails & toenails were filthy, it says.

Medical records from the jail indicate that Thompson received his last dose of the medications he'd been prescribed for his mental health issues 32 days before his death.

The independent autopsy was paid for by the Autopsy Initiative of the Know Your Rights Camp, an initiative started by former NFL star & activist Colin Kaepernick.

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The coronavirus outbreak that’s shuttered commerce across China will likely become a global pandemic, a top U.S. health official said Tuesday, adding that it’s just a matter of time before the outbreak starts to spread in the U.S.

“Current global circumstances suggest it’s likely this virus will cause a pandemic,” Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters at a news briefing.

The virus, which has now infected more than 80,200 and killed at least 2,704 people, has spread rapidly over the past week through South Korea, Iran and Italy. The localized outbreaks outside of China have fueled concerns among infectious disease experts and scientists that the virus is spreading too quickly and may be past the point of containment.

“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen any more, but rather more a question of when this will happen and how many people in this country will become infected and how many of those will develop severe or more complicated disease,” she added.

There are now 57 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday. A majority of those cases came from passengers repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan. CDC data shows that 40 of the cases are attributed to the cruise ship, four of which were announced Tuesday. Three patients were infected in Wuhan and later evacuated to the U.S., and the rest were largely infected while traveling overseas.

“We can’t hermetically seal off the United States,” Azar said.

There is a “defined playbook” for how the government would respond to any potential community spread in the U.S., Azar said, adding that Americans “shouldn’t panic when they see new cases.”

“It is very dangerous to make predictions with a virus, especially a novel virus,” Azar said. “But we have tools to deal with it that are reasonable, titrated and don’t excessively interfere either with the economy or individuals lives, necessarily.”

While COVID-19 is contained in the U.S. so far, CDC officials said earlier Tuesday that the public needs to prepare for an eventual outbreak here. Schuchat echoed those comments.

“We must use this time to continue to prepare for the event of community transmission in the United States,” Schuchat said. “Part of that preparation is educating the public and our state, local and private sector partners about what transition from aggressive containment measures to community measures or community mitigation would look like should we end up there.”

Source: CNBC

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Artist Name: Ray Turner

Song Title: This Morning (feat. Kataz, P.U.R.P. & Suicide King)

Ray Turner’s ‟This Morning” is a track that will resonate with many music lovers. It combines sultry harmonious vocals with superb acoustics bringing the production to life with subtle tempo changes. Having experimented with both R&B and gospel music in the past, his new track bears all the hallmarks of his steady growth. He tunes his lyrical flow to align with both the sound and the tempo giving the song a catchy vibe. The song begins with a smooth vocal rendition that reminds you of the famous ‟party for two” track and continues with a cacophony of background sounds that compliment his voice perfectly. His musical evolution is quite obvious on the rhythmic track as he combines elements of gospel and R&B and tries to find a unique balance between the two as he with his tempo switches.

‟This Morning” is Turner's most solid piece of work as he is able to merge his production background influenced by the likes of Pharell with his artistic performance and manages to reveal his songwriting prowess along the line. Being involved in the entire process has allowed him to evolve his sound and while he retains his gospel music background, this song proves that he can cut it in other genres as well. It is a relatable track that uses bold lines to talk about the things that affect everyone else lending further credence to his legacy as a potential agent of social change. Having previously explored the concepts of sanctification and election in his recent body of work titled ‟This Morning ”, he brings his passion to the surface in ‟This Morning” showing a deep emotional attachment to the things he says.

Ray Turner is a burgeoning artist and ‟This Morning” shows that he could be off to a brand new musical start in his relatively young career. He has successfully made the change from producer to artiste quite smoothly and this track allows him to continue down that path by bringing all the flashes of vocal and lyrical ability together in a unique way. This song appeals to both lovers of R&B and gospel music but it goes beyond the borders of both genres to create a musical ambiance that just about anyone can relate to. As his musical journey continues, Ray Turner could be about to unleash the full range of his artistic prowess and ‟This Morning” could be a sign of things to come. He has been called the DJ Khaled of gospel music for his ability to find the right voices to bring his tracks to live in his relatively young career.

This song appeals to both lovers of R&B and gospel music but it goes beyond the borders of both genres to create a musical ambiance that just about anyone can relate to. Ray Turner has indeed come a long way and an important part of his legacy is his refusal to let his disability hold him back as he holds up a torch for other upcoming talents from his wheel chair. The young man from Hattiesburg, MS is already heralded as one of the hottest upcoming producers and ‟This Morning” is surely just a prelude of things to come.

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