Mortality Data and Related Policies, 2000-2020
| Submitted | May 19, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: COVID Prison Project
Ryan C. McCord, J.D.
Virginia Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261
To Ryan C. McCord:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following 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 Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) 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 VDOC between January 2000 and December 2020.
– Final reports of death for all individuals in VDOC custody who died between January 2000 and December 2020.
Additionally, I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of any and all VDOC 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 VDOC custody.
– The reporting of in-custody deaths to other governmental agencies.
– Next-of-kin notification in the event of in-custody deaths.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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.
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act requires a response to this request be made within five business days. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than this amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.
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: Department of Corrections
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your request for records made in accordance with the Virginia
Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
Please be advised that pursuant to § 2.2-3704(A) of the Code of Virginia,
“all public records shall be open to citizens of the Commonwealth,
representatives of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the
Commonwealth, and representatives of radio and television stations
broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth during the regular office hours of
the custodian of such records.”
Therefore, unless you are associated with the type of media specified in *COV
*§ 2.2-3704(A), please provide a legal Virginia address to show your
residency. Please respond with this information to move forward with your
FOIA request. The statutory timeline for our response is tolled until you
respond with a legal Virginia address. If your response is not received
within seven business days, your request will be officially closed and you
will have to resubmit for future processing.
Thank you for contacting the Virginia Department of Corrections.
--
*Administrative Compliance Unit*
*Virginia Department of Corrections*
*foia@vadoc.virginia.gov <foia@vadoc.virginia.gov>*
*CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:* The contents of this email message and any
attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain
confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected
from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or
their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please
immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message
and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message
or its attachments is strictly prohibited.
From: Department of Corrections
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your request for records made in accordance with the Virginia
Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) received May 19, 2021.
Our office responded to your request on May 19, 2021 and requested that you
provide a legal Virginia address to show residency pursuant to §
2.2-3704(A) of the Code of Virginia.
As of today, June 7, 2021, the VADOC has not received a response in more
than seven business days. Please be advised that due to your non-response
and pursuant to VADOC Operating Procedure 025.1, *Public Access to DOC
Public Records*, § IV (B)(3)(d), this FOIA request has now been officially
closed and you will need to re-submit this request for future processing.
Thank you for contacting the Virginia Department of Corrections.
--
*Administrative Compliance Unit*
*Virginia Department of Corrections*
*foia@vadoc.virginia.gov <foia@vadoc.virginia.gov>*
*CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:* The contents of this email message and any
attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain
confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected
from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or
their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please
immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message
and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message
or its attachments is strictly prohibited.
Files
There are no files associated with this request.