Fact Check: People die in custody in various detention facilities, including jails and prisons.

Fact Check: "People die in custody in various detention facilities, including jails and prisons."

What We Know

The claim that "people die in custody in various detention facilities, including jails and prisons" is supported by substantial data collected under the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA). This act mandates that states report deaths occurring in custody to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). According to the BJA, this includes individuals detained in municipal or county jails, state prisons, and other correctional facilities, as well as those in the process of being arrested (source-1).

Data from the Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI) program, which collects information on deaths in local jails and state prisons, further corroborates this claim. The MCI has documented that a significant number of deaths occur while inmates are in custody, with the majority attributed to natural causes, but also including suicides and deaths resulting from violence (source-2).

From 2001 to 2019, nearly 87% of state prisoners and 89% of federal prisoners who died in custody did so due to illness, indicating that while many deaths are due to health-related issues, there are also notable instances of deaths from other causes (source-3).

Analysis

The evidence supporting the claim is robust, stemming from official data collection efforts mandated by federal law. The DCRA and MCI programs are designed to ensure comprehensive reporting of deaths in custody, which includes various circumstances and facilities. The BJA acknowledges challenges in data completeness and accuracy, but the systematic collection of data across states provides a reliable overview of mortality in correctional settings (source-1, source-2).

However, it is essential to note that while the data is collected systematically, there are ongoing reporting gaps. The BJA has indicated that these gaps can affect the overall accuracy of the reported statistics. Despite this, the trends observed in the data are significant and indicate that deaths in custody are a persistent issue that warrants attention (source-1).

The sources of this data, including the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the BJA, are credible and authoritative in the field of criminal justice statistics. They are government entities tasked with collecting and analyzing data related to law enforcement and corrections, which adds to the reliability of the information presented.

Conclusion

The claim that "people die in custody in various detention facilities, including jails and prisons" is True. The evidence from the DCRA and MCI data collections clearly indicates that deaths do occur in these settings, with a variety of causes. While there are challenges in data reporting and completeness, the systematic collection of mortality data in correctional institutions confirms the validity of the claim.