Mortality Data and Related Policies, 2000-2020
| Submitted | May 19, 2021 |
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Communications
From: COVID Prison Project
Susan M. Smith
Public Records Lead
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
512 N Salisbury St.
Raleigh, NC 27604
To Susan M. Smith:
Pursuant to the state open records law N.C. Gen. Stat. Secs. 132-1 to 132-11, I write to request access to and a copy of the following public records:
– Those which include time and date of all instances of death occurring in the offender population between January 2000 and December 2020.
– Those which indicate the total number of individuals in North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) custody who died by any cause, separated monthly, from January 2000 to December 2020.
– Monthly population records that include the total number of deaths occurring among people in the custody of the NCDPS between January 2000 and December 2020.
– Certificates of death for all individuals in NCDPS custody who died between January 2000 and December 2020.
Additionally, I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of any and all NCDPS policies, regulations, and procedures, pertaining to...
– Investigations of in-custody deaths.
– Requirements for the performance of an autopsy or post-mortem medical examination of individuals who die while in NMCD custody.
– The reporting of in-custody deaths to other governmental agencies.
– Next-of-kin notification in the event of in-custody deaths.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. However, we respectfully request a waiver of these fees as we are affiliated with an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientific purpose and not for a commercial use.
I would request your response within ten (10) business days.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.
I would note that violation of the open records law can result in the award of reasonable attorney fees, for which you may be held personally liable. See N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 132-9(c).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Forrest Behne
Policy Director, COVID Prison Project
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Office: (919) 391-7962
340 MacNider Hall | Campus Box 7240
333 South Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7240
From: North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Dear Mr. Behne,
I no longer work in the Public Records Section. Please direct any correspondence with regards to any Public Records Request to Susan Smith at the email address CC’d above.
Regards,
Wendy Estes
Hazard Mitigation Finance and Business Compliance Analyst
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Division of Emergency Management, Recovery Section, Hazard Mitigation Branch
Mailing Address: 4238 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-4238
Physical Address: 200 Park Offices Drive, Ste 100, Durham, NC 27713
Office: 919-873-5846
Wendy.Estes@ncdps.gov<mailto:Wendy.Estes@ncdps.gov>
From: North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Mr. Behne,
We received your records request in today's mail and will work to gather any responsive records related to your request and provide a response as promptly as possible.
Please be advised that the fulfillment of your request may be delayed due to the unprecedented workload associated with ensuring the health, safety and security of staff members, offenders and the public during this time of pandemic, as well as by the substantial increase in the number of public records requests that we continue to receive as a result of this event. We do apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to fulfill your request.
Additionally, could you please clarify the following "Monthly population records that include the total number of deaths occurring among people in the custody of the NCDPS between January 2000 and December 2020".
Joshua Hammond
Communications & Information Specialist
Email: joshua.hammond@ncdps.gov<mailto:joshua.hammond@ncdps.gov>
Phone: (919) 436-3038
Cell: (910) 585-9336
"Veritas Odit Moras"
[cid:image002.png@01D74CA9.CA8162A0]
________________________________
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official.
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From: COVID Prison Project
Mr. Hammond,
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. We are sympathetic to the heightened workload created by the the COVID-19 pandemic and we understand that the volume of information requested might pose logistical challenges. For these reasons we are all the more appreciative of your quick and courteous communication.
In regards to the request for "Monthly population records that include the total number of deaths occurring among people in the custody of the NCDPS between January 2000 and December 2020", I am happy to provide clarification. We are seeking information on deaths which occur in the custody of the NCDPS between 2000 and 2020 for the purposes of advancing public health interests. We believe that monthly population reports generated by the Department may yield information pertinent to understanding all-cause mortality, specifically in correctional settings.
I hope this helps. Thank you, again, for your assistance.
Respectfully,
Forrest Behne
Policy Director, COVID Prison Project
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Office: (919) 391-7962
340 MacNider Hall | Campus Box 7240
333 South Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7240
From: North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Mr. Behne, just following up with another question. When you talk about custody of NCDPS are you just referring to Prisons or the entirety of our department? I'm only asking because we're a very broad department that covers not only prisons but also State Highway Patrol, National Guard, Emergency Management, Juvenile Justice, Homeland Security, and Office of Recovery & Resiliency. As you can see we cover a lot of bases and we want to make sure we get you the right information.
Joshua Hammond
Communications & Information Specialist
Email: joshua.hammond@ncdps.gov<mailto:joshua.hammond@ncdps.gov>
Phone: (919) 436-3038
Cell: (910) 585-9336
"Veritas Odit Moras"
[cid:image001.png@01D74CBC.2AF4FC20]
________________________________
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official.
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image001
From: COVID Prison Project
Mr. Hammond,
The department does have an incredibly broad mandate. I do not want to waste your time by asking for information that will not be included in our research efforts. Given the amount of material we are requesting, perhaps we can further refine "in the custody of the NCDPS" to "individuals confined to facilities which operate under the auspices of the NCDPS division of Adult Correction."
Thank you for helping me get to more accurate and specific language. If I need to modify and resend the original request to reflect this understanding, I would be happy to do so at your request.
Warmest regards,
Forrest Behne
Policy Director, COVID Prison Project
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Office: (919) 391-7962
340 MacNider Hall | Campus Box 7240
333 South Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7240
From: COVID Prison Project
Joshua Hammond
Communications & Information Specialist
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
512 N Salisbury St.
Raleigh, NC 27604
To Joshua Hammond:
Pursuant to the state open records law N.C. Gen. Stat. Secs. 132-1 to 132-11, I write to request access to and a copy of the following public records:
– Those which include time and date of all instances of death occurring among individuals confined to facilities which operate under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) division of Adult Correction between January 2000 and December 2020.
– Those which indicate the total number of individuals confined to facilities which operate under the auspices of the NCDPS division of Adult Correction who died by any cause, separated monthly, from January 2000 to December 2020.
– Monthly population records that include the total number of deaths occurring among individuals confined to facilities which operate under the auspices of the NCDPS division of Adult Correction between January 2000 and December 2020.
– Certificates of death for all individuals confined to facilities which operate under the auspices of the NCDPS division of Adult Correction who died between January 2000 and December 2020.
Additionally, I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of any and all NCDPS policies, regulations, and procedures, pertaining to...
– Investigations of in-custody deaths.
– Requirements for the performance of an autopsy or post-mortem medical examination of individuals who die while in NCDPS custody.
– The reporting of in-custody deaths to other governmental agencies.
– Next-of-kin notification in the event of in-custody deaths.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. However, we respectfully request a waiver of these fees as we are affiliated with an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientific purpose and not for a commercial use.
I would request your response within ten (10) business days.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.
I would note that violation of the open records law can result in the award of reasonable attorney fees, for which you may be held personally liable. See N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 132-9(c).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Forrest Behne
Policy Director, COVID Prison Project
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Office: (919) 391-7962
340 MacNider Hall | Campus Box 7240
333 South Columbia Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7240
From: North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Mr. Behne,
Attached is an Excel spreadsheet that contains the public information you requested on more than 20 years of offender deaths.
Please know only certain offender information is public information in North Carolina. Protected health information, including the cause of death, is not included in the list of information that is public and, therefore, is confidential. Health records are part of an offender’s prison record. The North Carolina Supreme Court held in Goble vs. Bounds, 281 N.C. 307, 188 S.E.2d 347 (1972), that prison records of offenders are confidential and are not subject to inspection by the public.
This holding was affirmed statutorily by the North Carolina General Assembly. While the confidentiality of some public records expires 100 years after creation of the record, N.C. Gen. Stat. §132-11(c)(4) does not allow the disclosure of prison offender records even after 100 years, referring specifically to a “prison inmate record, including medical and mental health records.”
With the above statutory references in mind, attached you’ll find the spreadsheet contains the OPUS numbers, names and dates of deaths for all offender deaths covering the time period of Jan. 1, 2000, through December 2020.
This spreadsheet will ensure you have the information necessary to break out the deaths by month/year or to sort this information in other ways you may find to be convenient.
In addition, please know the Department of Public Safety is not the custodian of death certificates, and any offender death certificates in the possession of the Department of Public Safety are part of an offender’s prison record.
As prison records are confidential and not subject to inspection by the public, Prisons is not in a position to release death certificates in our possession. Please see sections 148-74 and 148-76 of the North Carolina General Statutes and Goble v. Bounds, 13 N.C. App. 579, 186 S.E.2d 638 (1972). You may direct your request to the proper custodian of records for death certificates. We suggest you contact the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Vital Records Office for the death certificates you seek.
You also requested “(m)onthly population records that include the total number of deaths occurring among people in the custody of the NCDPS between January 2000 and December 2020. Much of the data on facility populations you can find using our Automated System Query system, which includes facility-by-facility population information dating back to 1995. The ASQ system is available via the following link: https://webapps.doc.state.nc.us/apps/asqExt/ASQ
Click on Start Generating Reports. You’ll want to set it on Populations (right) and the timeframe within which you want to search.
Click on Define Report. And then click on the fields on the left you want to search. Click on “add items” to move it into the actual search parameters on the right. I believe the search parameter “unit population” if moved to the right with add item(s) will allow you to search facility populations.
This search tool provides snapshots of facility populations in six-month increments. Please keep in mind that, prior to the pandemic, Prisons transferred an average of 1,100 offenders each week for a variety of operational and security reasons. In short, facility populations shifted to some degree routinely and frequently each week. We do not possess documents or databases that specifically include “monthly population records that include the total number of deaths.”
Also, the policies you requested that pertain to the death of an offender are attached. It is important for you to know they currently are under review and likely will include a number of changes.
Unless specifically requested by the Prisons, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determines whether or not an autopsy is performed on decedents who died in the custody of Prisons. Autopsies are not currently being performed on all decedents. You may contact the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to obtain additional information regarding criteria for performing an autopsy.
Finally, next-of-kin notification is included in the policy on Procedures in Case of Death of an Inmate, policy ADV-2.
John M.R. Bull
Communications Officer/Adult Correction
North Carolina Department of Public Safety
4202 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4292
984-255-6021 (office)
984-365-4336 (cell)
john.bull@ncdps.gov<mailto:john.bull@ncdps.gov>
www.ncdps.gov<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ncdps.gov%2f&c=E,1,rxpI9o1fWQAfMeArj6Mo5AMmVCyKi5l2wj-IsZytramY7etr83kVS1fbK_vhlXcRh3NztWs6A_OcmRs_x3H_X1CL9GVDX8IOdfFXOLdbW16lJjo,&typo=1>
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From: COVID Prison Project
Mr. John M.R. Bull,
Thank you very much for your prompt assistance in this matter. We are grateful for all of your help.
Sincerely,
The COVID Prison Project
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