Colin Kaepernick is stepping up to help a family find answers ... paying for the autopsy of a 35-year-old man who died under peculiar circumstances in county jail after the medical examiner's initial autopsy failed to provide answers.
LaShawn Thompson died in his Fulton County Jail cell in September 2022 ... and his family wholeheartedly believes the facility's horrific and unsanitary conditions led to LT's death. But, the official autopsy came back "undetermined."
Enter Colin. He heard about the story and wanted to help, so he contacted Ben Crump, attorney for the family, and offered to fund a second, independent autopsy.
Typically, autopsies can cost between $20-50k.
Aside from wanting to provide the family with closure, we're told Colin was, and is, upset about the conditions in which LaShawn, initially arrested for a misdemeanor simple battery, and other inmates endured.
In fact, it's those disgusting conditions the Thompson family believes contributed, if not caused, LaShawn's death.
"The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal. This is inexcusable and it’s deplorable,” Thompson family attorney Michael Harper said of the cell where LaShawn lived, and ultimately died.
The family has released several photos of the scene, as well as LT's body, which appears to be covered in bug bites.
In the wake of the outrage over jail conditions, three high-ranking jail officials have stepped down, with the Fulton County Sheriff saying, “It’s clear to me that it’s time, past time, to clean house,” adding they're making "sweeping changes" to the facility.
As for the timetable for the second autopsy, we're told Colin and the family have already begun the process of lining up the exam.