When jail becomes a death sentence
In 2015 a mentally ill inmate in Santa Clara County’s main jail was found beaten to death in his cell.
Michael Tyree, 31, suffered from bipolar disorder and addiction. He was jailed for two weeks for a minor violation of his probation.
We wanted to know: Was Tyree’s death an anomaly, or evidence of systemic deficiencies that could lead to more deaths?
The Series
Working with Julie Small, of KQED, we reported on the deaths of Walter Roches and Michael Tyree. Several weeks after our story aired an independent task force convened after Tyree’s death presented 120 recommendations to the county board of supervisors. Their main recommendation: Remove jail operations from the sheriff. While the Supervisors unanimously accepted the recommendations they have not acted on all. The sheriff still shares oversight of county jails and an independent inspector general has not been appointed. Currently, the jail is also being sued by inmate-rights groups. Three deputies are also being tried for the death of Tyree.
Next, we examined Sonoma County jails after discovering that the county was spending more on psychotropic medications than other jurisdictions. During the process of our reporting Disability Rights California discovered that the county was improperly involuntarily medicating inmates. We were able to tour the jail and speak to jail staff about their policies before the change. The jail announced that they were changing their policy the week our story aired. Forum also hosted an episode with the sheriff’s department and Disability Rights California.
But in terms of human life lost one county stood out: San Diego.
There were more than two dozen San Diego County jail suicides between 2010 and 2015, a string of deaths that significantly exceeds the number seen in other counties. Statewide in 2015, one in four inmates who died in county jails took their own lives. But in San Diego County, half of deaths were from inmates taking their own lives. The deaths have prompted a series of lawsuits against the county and its Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jails, and has raised questions about whether the county is doing enough to stop seriously mentally ill inmates from harming themselves. Read the full story.
Outside outlets picked up on our reporting. NPR, PBS and the Marshall Project all shared the online story on Facebook and Twitter. Rough and Tumble and Politico also highlighted the stories in their newsletters.