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Naturalizing unnatural death in Los Angeles County jails
Nicholas Shapiro1, Terence Keel2
1Carceral Ecologies, Institute for Society and Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Medical Anthropology Quarterly
|October 19, 2023
Summary
Death investigations in Los Angeles County jails often classify deaths of Black and Latino incarcerated individuals as natural or undetermined. This study reveals how these classifications minimize staff culpability and obscure the impacts of carceral neglect.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Criminology
- Medical Ethics
Background:
- Death investigations in correctional facilities are critical for accountability.
- Racial disparities in mortality within jails warrant thorough examination.
- Previous research indicates systemic issues within carceral systems impacting health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how death investigations in Los Angeles County jails disproportionately naturalize deaths among Black and Latino incarcerated populations.
- To investigate the role of the Medical Examiner's classifications in minimizing staff culpability.
- To understand how biomedical knowledge is applied to obscure the effects of carceral conditions.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative and qualitative analysis of 58 autopsies, coroner investigator narratives, and toxicology reports from 2009-2018.
- Assessment of death determination classifications (natural, undetermined, etc.).
- Examination of demographic data, focusing on racial disparities.
Main Results:
- Medical Examiner's natural or undetermined death findings frequently minimized carceral staff culpability.
- Black incarcerated individuals were disproportionately classified as having natural deaths.
- Latino incarcerated individuals were disproportionately represented in undetermined death classifications.
- Over 75% of cases involved deaths occurring before trial.
Conclusions:
- Death investigation practices in Los Angeles County jails contribute to the naturalization of death for Black and Latino incarcerated people.
- Biomedical classifications serve to erase the life-diminishing effects of punishment, neglect, and maltreatment within mass incarceration.
- Findings highlight the need for critical review of death investigation protocols and their role in perpetuating systemic inequities.
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