The Marshall Project
Prison Bars, Author Michael Coghlan of Adelaide Australia, (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)
The Marshall Project is a non-profit news organization covering the US criminal justice system [1]. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the system’s failings, and promote a more fair, effective, and humane system through journalism.
Death in Custody Data
The Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) mandates that the Dept. of Justice collect information from the states about everyone who dies in law enforcement custody. Before 2000, such data was not systematically tracked by the federal government.
Unfortunately, there are still flaws in the system.
The Marshall Project earlier this year identified by name 681 individuals who died in law enforcement custody, but were not present in the database [2A].
A random sample of 1000 entries disclosed that over 75% failed to meet the government’s criteria for how a death should be recorded [2B]. Hundreds of the entries reviewed lacked information as to the law enforcement agency involved or the race or ethnicity of the individual who died. Thousands lacked information about the cause or location of the death in custody. Several states failed to report such deaths almost entirely.
- In Mississippi, state officials acknowledged that local and county law enforcement agencies are not actively participating in the death in custody reporting [3A].
- The death of George Floyd during arrest which led to riots was listed under the “homicide” category, i.e. as a death at the hands of another civilian, not law enforcement [3B].
- The death of Joshua McLemore, whose family received a $7.25 million settlement, was not recorded at all [3C]. McLemore succumbed to dehydration and malnutrition after 3 weeks spent naked in solitary confinement, without medical attention.
Clearly, therefore, the law is not fulfilling its purpose of reducing the number of deaths in custody [3D][4].
Despite all this, the Dept. of Justice has never withheld a portion of federal funding from law enforcement agencies that fail to accurately report deaths in custody [3E].
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you… for…I was in prison and you came to Me’” (Matt. 25: 34-36).
As Christians, we must not forget those in prison. God has not forgotten them.
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[1] Wikipedia, “The Marshall Project”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marshall_Project.
[2] The Marshall Project, “How We Analyzed the Justice Department’s Death in Custody Data” by Aaron Sankin and Ilica Mahajan, 8/7/25, https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/07/dcra-leak-data-analysis-methodology?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us.
[3A through 3E] The Marshall Project, “Why Doesn’t the Government Know How Many People Die in Custody?” by Ilica Mahan, Anna Flagg, and Aaron Sankin, 8/7/25, https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/07/deaths-in-custody-reporting-act-problems.
[4] The Appeal, “How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody” by Ethan Corey, 6/24/20, https://theappeal.org/police-prison-deaths-data/.
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A Lawyer's Prayers 
It is easy to see why law enforcement agencies would not be quick to report the deaths of their prisoners. To do so would bring unwanted scrutiny to their operations, revealing areas where long overdue reforms are needed. All of which then gives the agency a black eye before the public and possible reductions in funding.
Somewhere along the line, the fact that prisoners are human and deserving to be treated as such has been lost among some law enforcement agencies. In such cases, leadership must be held accountable and offenders prosecuted the same as any other criminal. Perhaps then we might see an end to these needless deaths.
Failure to address policing errors is what has given rise to the move to “defund” the police, now being exploited by extremist groups w/ their own agenda.
Thanks for this clarification, Anna, and for the reminder of the forgotten in prison.
ALWAYS, it seems, humans struggle to find the balance in NUMEROUS areas of life. Our justice system is certainly one of them. On the one hand, criminals should have basic needs met: shelter, food, clothing, and care for injuries and illness. On the other hand, criminals (especially of felony crimes)–especially repeat offenders–should not be let back out on the streets to continue victimizing the innocent.
No, God has not forgotten them, but I imagine the vast majority feel abandoned by family, friends, and society in general. Praise God for those who engage in prison ministries, one of the least glamorous missions. May we remember them and those they minister to in prayer.
If capitalism were working well, small numbers of people talking about socialism would be a fringe group. Similarly, ideas like “defund the police” are, at their core, a demand for quality improvement. If you reframe the problem, at least some people in law enforcement might get on board.
A core problem is that numbers are incentivised. This is the heart of Customs and Border Protection’s present-day problems. If you’re required to hit numbers, everything else gets sidelined in order to hit the numbers. Due process, quality, ethics, and department regulations are difficult to uphold when the boss threatens you unless you make the numbers. At the county level, there can be a similar intense demand. District Attorneys (DAs) must hit conviction numbers in order to get re-elected. One newspaper story said a California D.A. allegedly told staff he would close their unit and surplus the staff unless they continued to collect millions annually in asset forfeitures.
In the U.S., some of the biggest problems are within Department of Justice and pre-date the current administration. Misuse of paid informants is a problem. Secrecy and zero accountability another. A 2002 DOJ Inspector General report disclosed 775 lost guns and 400 missing laptop computers. FBI records couldn’t tell how many of the 400 laptops had classified information on them. Other agencies have been equally sloppy with gun inventories.
At the federal level, there’s a big problem with wrongful convictions. Wrongful convictions need to become radioactive. If someone participates in a wrongful conviction, it’s a violation of their oath. That action must put at risk their employment and the entire government portion of their retirement benefits. Putting your child or grandchild in prison for a crime committed by someone else is not acceptable.
It’s tough to appreciate the challenges of police work when you and I have never worked in law enforcement. It’s a tall order, but police work must reflect our values and be driven by a moral compass. Sloppy work is not ok.