Notable review of how deaths in federal prisons are categorized and investigated

NPR has this extended investgation report headlined “There is little scrutiny of ‘natural’ deaths behind bars.”  I recommend this piece in full, and here are excerpts:

Kesha Jackson was preparing for her husband, John, to be home in a few weeks.  He was incarcerated in Forrest City federal prison in Arkansas, awaiting a court hearing for early release after 18 years.  But then Jackson got a concerning call from other inmates.

Her husband, in the special housing unit, was going in and out of consciousness, the inmates told her.  He tried banging on the door for help.  Three days later, an officer handcuffed him and tried to give him CPR. He died soon after.  And as she waited for some explanation, Jackson was surprised to learn what prison officials pronounced as the manner of death: “natural.”

By deeming the death natural, prison authorities were not required to conduct an autopsy for Jackson’s death. It’s how they characterize at least three-quarters of all federal prison deaths since 2009, yet NPR has found “natural” deaths with details that raise questions for family members….

MRSA is a staph infection — caused by a type of dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria. But it is not generally fatal if treated immediately. John contracted it after he was moved to the Forrest City federal prison in 2017.  According to his medical records, he still had the infection over two years later.  “Saying that it’s a natural death can sometimes be misleading because I believe that having the proper medical treatment could have possibly saved his life,” Jackson said.

The CDC says natural deaths happen either solely or almost entirely because of disease or old age.  Yet 70% of the inmates who died in federal prison the last 13 years were under the age of 65.  After speaking to some of the families of these inmates, NPR found that potential issues such as medical neglect, poor prison conditions and a lack of health care resources were left unexplained once a “natural” death designation ended hopes of an investigation. Meanwhile, family members were left with little information about their loved one’s death….

The Office of Inspector General for the Bureau of Prisons recently launched an investigation into all non-natural federal inmate deaths in custody from 2014 to 2021.  Natural deaths are not included in this investigation.

But NPR spoke with multiple families of inmates who died natural deaths who believed their loved one’s death warrants scrutiny.  For instance: an inmate in a prison medical center in Springfield, Mo., waited weeks to be treated for bleeding in his digestive tract.  He died soon after hospitalization.  An inmate in Arkansas complained of stomach pain for a year and a half before his death. His family was not provided with any more details.