Who should investigate jail deaths? Not the sheriffs who run the jails, Ohio governor says

"No jail should be investigating itself," said Michele Deitch, director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas. "Why should the public trust any conclusion from a self-interested agency that 'there is nothing to see here'? An independent investigation provides confidence on the part of the public and families that the death review is objective and avoids any actual or perceived conflict of interest."

Deitch said in addition to Texas, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oregon have laws requiring independent investigations of in-custody deaths in jails and prisons.