Autopsy Analysis of Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail, 2009-2018 (ICPSR 38958)
Version Date: Feb 14, 2024 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Nicholas Shapiro, University of California, Los Angeles
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38958.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study consists of abstracted information from the autopsies of people who died while incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail system between the years of 2009 and 2018. The data was abstracted from autopsies made available from the responsive documents for a public records request made to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner (DME-C) in 2019 requesting autopsies for all deaths that occurred in LA County Jail custody between 2009 and 2018. The data was abstracted across 84 different variables to allow for further analysis, leading to both better understanding of the circumstances of death in jail and the practices of the LA DME-C in investigating these deaths. Carefully selected language is used in the full autopsy analysis protocol with the intention of understanding the provenance of assertions of decedent health and mental health histories as well as potential conflicts of interest and failures to perform best practices of in-custody death investigations. In other words, the variables present information about the person prior to their death, the investigation right after the death, as well as the processes that occurred during the autopsy including subsequent tests conducted on the body.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
Facility
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, some of the data files in this collection are restricted from general dissemination. To obtain these restricted files, researchers must download the appropriate Restricted Data Use Agreement and submit a request. Once approved, data access will be provided via ICPSR's Physical Data Enclave (PDE) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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There are two versions of the data. One version contains a public-use file, and the other is a restricted file which is only available in ICPSR's Physical Data Enclave.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the drivers of death in the world's largest jail system and the practices of the Medical Examiner-Coroners.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Autopsies of people who died while incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail system between 2009 and 2018.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
Public records request made to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner (DME-C) in 2019.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Variables in the data include autopsy information pertaining to decedents. Demographic variables in the data include age, race, and sex. The enclave-use data, which is only accessible to users with approved access to the Physical Data Enclave (PDE), include direct identifiers pertaining to the decedents and professionals involved in the autopsy process.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2024-02-14
Version History View help for Version History
2024-02-14 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Created variable labels and/or value labels.
- Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.
Abrasions
A 10 character field indicating whether the decedent had abrasions at the time of their death.
Additional Forensic Attendant
A 26 character field that records the names of additional forensic attendants involved in the aftermath of the decedent's death.
Adequate Storage of Toxicology Specimens
A 10 character field that records whether or not toxicology specimens are adequately stored.
Age
A 2 digit field recording the age of decedent.
Associate Deputy Medical Examiner
A 16 character field that records the name of the associate deputy medical examiner who may have assisted in conducting the autopsy.
Autopsy Arrest Date
A 12 character field documenting the date that the decedent was arrested to determine the length of time they were incarcerated prior to their death.
Autopsy Technician
A 20 character field that records the name of the person involved in assisting the Medical Examiner conduct the autopsy.
Blunt Force Trauma
A 10 character field indicating whether a decedent's body shows evidence of blunt force trauma.
Bone Fractures or Breaks
A 12 character field indicating whether the decedent had any broken bones or fractures at the time of their death.
Clothes Present at Time of Autopsy
A 31 character field which captures if the decedent's clothing was present at the time of the autopsy for the Deputy Medical Examiner to review.
Clothing Form 1
A 7 character field recording whether "Case Report (Form 1)" states that the decedent was clothed at the time of their death.
Clothing Form 6
A 27 character field recording whether "Preliminary Examination Report (Form 6)" states that the decedent was clothed at the time of their death.
Clothing Investigators Narrative
A 31 character field recording whether "Coroner Investigator's Narrative" states that the decedent was clothed at the time of their death.
Contusions Bruises Ecchymosis
A 10 character field indicating whether the decedent had contusions, bruises, or ecchymosis at the time of their death.
Coroner Investigator
A 24 character field that records the name of the coroner's investigator assigned to the death.
County
A 12 character field that documents the county that the decedent was incarcerated in.
Crime Scene Altered Prior to Coroner Arrival
A 31 character field indicating whether anything was changed at the scene of the decedent's death prior to the coroner arriving.
Date of Birth
A 21 character field documenting the decedent's date of birth.
Deputies_Involved 1
An 11 character field providing the name of a deputy mentioned in a Coroner Investigator's report.
Deputies_Involved 2
An 8 character field providing the name of additional deputies mentioned in the Coroner Investigator's report.
Deputies_Involved 3
A 6 character field providing the name of additional deputies mentioned in the Coroner Investigator's report.
Detectives Investigating Death
A 32 character field that records the names of detectives investigating the death.
Documented Review of Medical Records by Coroner Investigator
A 10 character field documenting if the Coroner Investigator reviewed medical records during their investigation of the decedent's death.
Documented Review of Medical Records by DME
A 7 character field that indicates if the decedent's medical records were reviewed by the Deputy Medical Examiner at the time of the autopsy.
Evidence of Blood on Scene
A 50 character field recording whether the coroner investigator found blood on the person and/or on the scene when investigating the death.
Examination Type
A 21 character field that documents the type of physical examination conducted on the decedent's body as part of the autopsy.
FSL Toxicology Report
A 14 character field documenting whether or not a Forensic Science Laboratory Toxicology Report was requested and conducted.
Facility
A 4 character field that documents the name of the facility the decedent was incarcerated in.
Figure of Livor and Numbers of Rigor Mortis Filled Out
A 31 character field describing whether or not the figure of livor and numbers of rigor mortis are filled out in the appropriate sections of the autopsy report.
Forensic Consultant
An 18 character field of the forensic consultant who worked on the decedent's forensic consultant report.
Gender
A 12 character field indicating the gender of the decedent.
Hair Collected
A 10 character field that documents if hair samples from the decedent were taken by the Coroner Investigator for forensic analysis.
Height
A 12 character field documenting the height of the decedent.
Hematoma
A 10 character field indicating whether the decedent had hematoma(s) at the time of their death.
Hemorrhages
A 12 character field indicating whether the decedent had hemorrhages at the time of their death.
History of Mental Illness
A 32 character field that documents whether or not the decedent had a history of mental illness and if the information came from a substantiated source.
History of Suicidal Ideation
A 50 character field indicating whether or not the decedent had a history of suicidal ideations and if the information came from a substantiated source.
If Crime Scene is Altered How
A 31 character field describing how the scene of the decedent's death was altered prior to the coroner arriving.
In County Where Sheriff is Coroner
A 10 character field that documents if the decedent was incarcerated in a county where the sheriff is the coroner.
Individual Who Reported Incident
A 47 character field documenting the person who reported the death of the decedent.
Infirmary
A 16 character field indicating whether a decedent was in the infirmary when they died.
Intersex
A 7 character field documented if the decedent was intersex.
Investigation Photos
A 2 digit numeric field capturing the number of investigative photographs, if any.
LASD Report Number
An 18 character field that records the LASD report number if provided.
LGBTQ+
A 12 character field documenting if the decedent was a part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and/or Asexual+ communities.
Lacerations
A 10 character field indicating whether the decedent had lacerations at the time of their death.
Law Enforcement Present at Autopsy
A 70 character field documenting the names of the law enforcement personnel present during autopsies. Job titles are excluded from the data.
Manner Manual Change
A 10 character field indicating whether a manner of death was manually changed by the investigators.
Manner of Death
A 12 character field that categorizes the nature of a decedent's death.
Medical Evidence Collected
A 12 character field which records if the "Case Report (Form 1)" states that medical evidence was collected or not.
Notes
These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.