About Us

HISTORY

In March 2020, we launched the UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project  to meet the urgent need for a centralized resource to track the impact of COVID-19 on those living and working in carceral institutions. During the heart of the pandemic, our data was used by litigators and activists, policymakers, journalists, academics, and other stakeholders seeking to make sense of and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on people in prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers.

In February 2023, we shifted our focus to all-cause mortality and relaunched as the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project. A central component of this work involves the building and hosting of a nationwide dataset of all deaths behind bars. Coinciding with the launch of our deaths in custody dataset, the New York Times drew on our data for a front-page investigation which found an increase of 61% in US prisons’ mortality rate from 2019 to 2020.

Our work has been made possible by the generous support of several funders, including Arnold Ventures, Vital Projects Fund, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities. From our earliest days, we have maintained our commitment to our core mission: to increase the transparency and accountability of carceral settings, to save lives, and to underscore our collective understanding of incarceration as a threat to public health.

FACULTY

Sharon Dolovich
Faculty Director
Professor of Law UCLA School of Law
Director UCLA Prison Law & Policy Program

Aaron Littman
Faculty Deputy Director
Assistant Professor of Law UCLA School of Law
Faculty Director, Prisoners’ Rights Clinic

VOLUNTEERS

Bronwen Crystal
Sherry Leysen
Lindsey Rogers
Samantha Vega
Josephine Wang
Cat Washington 

For a list of past staff and volunteers please see our team page on our COVID Behind Bars Data Project website.

STAFF

Katrina Nelson, Research Director
Diana Simmes, Project Director
Michael Everett, Senior Data Scientist
Lauren Woyczynski, Research Scientist
Josue Sanchez Hernandez, Research Analyst

CONSULTANT

Haller Jackson

ADVISORY BOARD

Our research is enhanced by the focused and informed input of our Advisory Board, which is comprised of members with diverse experiences with the carceral system.

Justin Berk
Bethany Hallam
Leseta Hamilton
Jeffrey Herrmann
Reena Kapoor
Dell Pippins
Michael Saavedra
Joshua Vaughn