In the jail where the woman mentioned in Part 14 of this series died, shortcomings of the jail drew adequate concern so that the county approved a new half-billion-dollar jail complex. The plan is to shut down the jail with the problems in 2022 when the new jail is expected to be completed.

The way data is handled often hides what is truly going on within jails. For instance, in 2019, a 56-year-old inmate was discovered in his cell hanging by a bedsheet. Resuscitation was attempted by the staff, but the inmate was transported to a hospital nearby, where he was pronounced dead. A spokesperson for the jail said that because the inmate had been released from custody, by virtue of going to the hospital, it was not technically considered a custodial death.

There are benefits when jail deaths are accurately collected and published. For instance, a jail that normally has few custodial deaths was discovered to suddenly have several within a short time. One inmate was pregnant and receiving care within the jail but died of an ectopic pregnancy. Another inmate was beaten by guards and died as a result; learn more about this custodial death in the next post.

See Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and continuing installments.

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–Guest Contributor