Autopsy for Fulton County Jail inmate who died in custody reveals he was killed, family still blames jail
Autopsy rules Fulton County inmate death a homicide
Fulton County and its sheriff's office may have a lawsuit on their hands soon. An autopsy was performed on an inmate who died in August while in custody at the Fulton County Jail. It ruled his death a homicide that raises more questions and concerns for Samuel Lawrence's family.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - An inmate who died while in custody at the Fulton County Jail was killed, according to a Fulton County Medical Examiner autopsy report released Tuesday.
FOX 5 News Reporter Tyler Fingert has learned Atlanta Police investigators have charged Lawrence’s cellmate, 18-year-old Zayrious Shields, with murder.
"Right now, I'm going for my son, and I want justice for my son because I will never get him back," said Lawrence’s father Frank Richardson.
Zayrious T. Shields (Credit: Fulton County Jail)
MAN FOUND DEAD IN FULTON COUNTY JAIL PLEADED FOR FEDERAL HELP DAYS BEFORE DEATH
Jailers found Lawrence unresponsive in his Fulton County jail cell in August.
According to the autopsy report, Lawrence was not only strangled, but it says he had blunt force trauma to his head, neck, chest, legs and arms.
"I got to think about him every day of my life and I don't know when the pain stops," Richardson said. "It never stops because you think about him on certain things you wanted him to be."
Atlanta Police charged Shields with murder.
Before his death, the family says Lawrence had filed a series of complaints including a 16-page Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint. In it, he claimed deputies kicked him and stomped on his hands. He also reported being bitten by another inmate.
"The county is responsible for the death of Samuel Lawrence, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office failed in its obligation to protect him, to keep him away from this violence," said Kenneth Muhammad, the Lawrence Family attorney.
The family is considering a lawsuit. Their attorney says compensation is necessary to hold the county accountable. Lawrence’s father says they hope for meaningful change at the facility.
"I pray to God that he touches that jail and puts people in place to help the other ones that are left behind," Richardson said.
We reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office about the family’s allegations, but they deferred all questions to APD.
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An ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice, sparked by the death of another inmate, is focusing on the treatment of inmates within the facility.