Joel Burgess|Asheville Citizen Times
When any person dies in the custody of the Buncombe County jail—a publicly funded institution tasked with holding and safeguarding those accused of crimes until their day in court—it raises important questions.
So when an unusually high number of jail fatalities appeared to be happeningover a short period of time, Citizen Times staff were concerned there might be a dangerous trend. That turned out to be true. But it was not easy to verify.
Data is collected nationally on jails bythe U.S. Department of Justice, including on jail deaths.But the department'sBureau of Justice Statistics releases the dataonly on an aggregated state-by-state level. Proponents say keeping jail-levelinformation from the publicmakes jails more likely to report fatalities.
For subscribers: State's deadliest jail: Buncombe has worst death rate, Citizen Times investigation shows
The information flow became more restricted under President Donald Trump when the bureau did not publish even state-level reports.Those have restarted with the most recent report comingout in December with 2019 data.
It is not clear when newer data will be released. Asked that question, Justice Department spokesperson Tannyr Watkins said reports are published on a "periodic" basis.
Legislation passed in 2014 is meant to provide more detailed public information, shiftingdata collection to a different Justice Department agency not restricted from releasing jail-by-jail information and pushingjails to report deaths by restricting federal grant money if they do not.
More: Mother of woman who died in Buncombe County jail custody demands answers from sheriff
But the Death in Custody Reporting Act, co-authored by Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, has not been implemented, according to Reuters. Scott did not respond to a request for comment.
Justice officials, meanwhile, disputethat the law's update is meant to release jail-level information— though Watkinssaidthe legislation does say the departmentmust now"examine the relationship, if any, between the number of deaths and the actions of management of jails."
Judge: Release video of Buncombe jail detainee Biddix who died, pending objections
More: Inmate dies at Buncombe County Detention Center; fourth death this year
To get information on deaths, the Citizen Times used aReuters database, which runs through 2019. For the most recent data, the Citizen Times went tocounty jail systems and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which is tasked with reviewing jails for compliance with health and safety rules.
Some jails responded. Some did not.
DHHS declined to make a jail inspector available to interview. On Jan. 7, a month after the Citizen Times request, the department supplied the jails' population numbers and death reports.The health department staff did not respond to a question asking when they would provide the compliance reviews.
DHHS death numbers were more complete than those givenby some of the jails,includingdetainees who were discharged by jails before they died in hospitals, something critics say is a way to keep the fatalities off the books.
More: Buncombe DA: BCDC cannot be allowed to unload a dead, or dying, man without notification
Related: Incarcerated man dies at Buncombe County jail; fourth in-custody death in the past year
The Citizen Times also got death investigations and autopsies for detainees from the N.C. Medical Examiner's Office, the agency responsible for determining causes of deaths.
To fill in gaps, the Citizen Times used news reports and information gathered by nonprofits and the UNC School of Government.
Using average daily population and deaths by year, the Citizen Times calculated death rates for the state's 10 biggest jail systems: Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, New Hanover, Gaston, Cumberland, Buncombe, Durham and Pitt.
That showed from 2008-2018Buncombe had the second highestjail fatality ratein the state per 1,000 detainees, at 2. That was behind Durham at 2.4. The national average is1.5.
But when 2019 to 2021 are taken into account, including Buncombe's eight deaths, the county's rate becomes the worst at 2.9. Durham isthe next highest at 2.3.
It is a number about which local officials, such as Sheriff Quentin Miller, who is responsible for managing thejail, said they were unaware — but which a top former state corrections official and former federal prosecutor say could be a key piece of information in saving lives.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess atjburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter@AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with asubscriptionto the Citizen Times.
