Deaths in custody

Deaths in custody — of detained, arrested, incarcerated, or institutionalized persons in state custody — are events the state is presumptively obligated to explain. Concrete forms include deaths from use-of-force incidents, deaths from medical neglect in custody, deaths from suicide where supervision was statutorily required, and deaths from violence inflicted by other detainees where the institution had notice. The publication tracks documented deaths in custody, the official accounts of them, and any subsequent contradictions of those accounts by evidence or litigation.