Senator expresses concerns about high death rate after Reuters report.
An investigation by Reuters revealed that 7,571 deaths occurred at more than 500 jails between 2008 and 2019. Reports from the Justice Department have included only state and national figures. A statement from the DoJ last month said that information gathering on inmate deaths has resumed under a revamped collection program, but that publication of the mortality reports was not expected to resume.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who sponsored a 2014 update to the reporting law of 2000 that required jail-by-jail death data to be made publicly available, has called for implementing the restriction of federal grant money to jails that fail to report deaths. “The problem is becoming worse, not better, and the key to solving any problem is understanding it,” said the senator, expressing concern about the increase in jail deaths.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Congress as they urge the Department of Justice to protect human rights.
- That the Department of Justice would take the data seriously and hold jails accountable for reporting.
- For the Lord to guide criminal justice reform in the U.S.
Sources: AP, US News
