PRESUMED INNOCENT, FOUND DEAD.

Counting jail deaths in the year after Sandra Bland's death.

816deaths in our database
256suicides counted
34reader-submitted tips on deaths in custody

The Huffington Post set out to track everyone who died in jails and police lockups across the U.S. since Sandra Bland was found hanged in her cell last July. The Department of Justice tracks these deaths but does not share them due to exemptions in federal public records laws. To fill this information gap, we've requested records, scoured news reports and asked for readers' help. So far, we've counted more than 800 deaths, but based on federal data, we suspect there have been more. On average, nearly 1,000 people died in jails each year between 2000 and 2013, according to the Department of Justice.

Use this page to follow our coverage and find the latest reports citing our data.

We need your help.

If you’re a local reporter

We need your help bringing more deaths to light. Read our how-to on reporting on deaths in custody, and learn how to use our data to investigate your local jails.

If you have information about a death in jail

Send us a tip if you have more information about someone in our database or another death in custody between July 13, 2015 and July 13, 2016. The scope of our project covers jails — short-term facilities in which many inmates have not been convicted — not prisons.