When people inside die from supposed natural causes, it’s often because facilities don’t provide necessary health care, said Michele Deitch, the director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. “When officials use the term ‘natural death,’ it’s meant to suggest that we don’t have to dig any deeper. But that’s not accurate at all. A lot of so-called natural deaths are very preventable.”
Deitch’s lab analyzes public data on in-custody deaths and conducts studies on the information available.
For example, she has highlighted how jail officials could help prevent drug-related deaths with a more diligent staffing process. “I’ve seen how some agencies make staff go through screening technology to stop the drugs from coming in,” she noted.