UCLA Study Finds Inmate Deaths in LA County Jails Misclassified

A study released by UCLA’s Carceral Ecologies Lab and Bio Critical Studies Lab on June 1 found that deaths in Los Angeles County jails were often classified as natural, even with evidence to the contrary. The study was of 59 deaths from 2009 to 2019. There were 292 reported deaths during that period, but the study said that security holds prevented researchers from accessing all but 59 of the cases. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department denied this, saying that researchers requested 210 autopsy reports, and that the department mailed them all between January and April 2021.

According to a summary of the report, the majority of Black and Latino men did not die from “natural causes” but from the actions of jail deputies and staff. 26 of the cases that were studied were reported to have died from “natural” causes, and 54% of these cases had evidence of physical violence on their bodies, and 85% involved an alleged mental illness.

The study also found that 74% of the deaths of Black men were classified as natural. More than 75% of the deaths were before the inmate had stood trial. 

The Sheriff’s Department said the study implies that Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner doctors purposefully misclassify deaths. The Sheriff’s Department denied this, and said the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner is a separate entity.