Man Found Dead at Atlanta Jail Filed Civil Rights Complaint the Same Week

Another person incarcerated at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia has died. 

Samuel Lawrence, 34, was found unresponsive in his cell during dinner rounds Saturday afternoon, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said. Lawrence was discovered around 4:20 p.m. and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where he was pronounced dead.

Lawrence had been incarcerated at the Rice Street Jail since Dec. 26 for 2nd-degree arson on a $30,000 bond, the sheriff’s office said. 

Atlanta police are investigating Lawrence’s death, and the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. 

The man is the fourth person to die at the Fulton County Jail in August and at least the eighth person to die this year, 11 Alive reported. August deaths include Montay Stinson, Alexander Hawkins, and Christopher Smith, the outlet reported. 

Lawrence had filed a civil rights complaint Aug. 22 in federal court alleging excessive force at the jail, including kicking and tasing by deputies, the television station reported. He also alleged that jailers didn’t protect him from other detainees. 

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the jail after the family of Lashawn Thompson alleged he was “eaten alive” by bed bugs. The American Civil Liberties Union slammed the jail’s overcrowding in a report released last year. 

The jail recently made headlines after former President Donald Trump was booked there. His mug shot was released – the first time out of his four arrests.