Our historical COVID-related data can be accessed through our old site, Github, and archive.

UCLA LAW

Behind Bars
Data Project

Over two million people are held in American carceral facilities, facing an outsized risk of death. But we know relatively little about who is in greatest danger and why. The UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project works to increase transparency and accountability within the US carceral system through data compilation and research. Our aim is to deepen public knowledge and understanding of all forms of deaths in custody by providing free, accessible data, support for researchers, and our own analyses.

5,222
annual* deaths in all U.S. prisons
409annual* deaths in all federal prisons
4,813annual* deaths in all state prisons
* Most recently available data (2021).
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AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
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Our project has built a centralized, public, online data repository documenting deaths in custody nationwide. These deaths have never been reported in one place and, in some cases, have never been reported at all. Our data includes general death data for all American prison systems from 2015-2021, detailed, individual-level data for most prison systems (43 of 51) from 2019-2021, and some data for 133 jail systems post 2019.
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September 24th, 2025

As Big-City Jail Deaths Rise, Data Transparency Is More Important Than Ever

As Big-City Jail Deaths Rise, Data Transparency Is More Important Than Ever

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May 29th, 2025

Why Does In-Custody Death Data Matter?

A prison or jail sentence should never be a death sentence. And yet, far too often and for far too many people, it is. Two years ago, the UCLA Covid Behind Bars Data Project expanded its national mission. The Project pivoted from tracking Covid cases and deaths inside prisons, jails, and detention centers to a focus on all-cause carceral mortality.

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May 27th, 2025

A New Project at Yale Examines In-Custody Starvation Deaths

A disturbing new report from The New Yorker, produced in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Lab at Yale, found that more than fifty people have died from starvation while in custody in American jails over the past decade and a half.

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Our generous
 supporters include: 
Arnold VenturesUCLA Research & Creative ActivitiesVital Projects Fund