In the period between 2005 and last year, nearly 7,000 people died while in legal custody in Texas, reports The Atlantic.
The deaths had many explanations. Some died from natural causes or suicide. Others died at the hands of other inmates or police or correctional officers.
A new database reveals striking patterns among these deaths. For example, blacks make up 12 percent of Texas’s population. But they comprised 36 percent of the incarcerated population and 30 percent of custodial deaths. Thirty percent of black deaths in custody were attributed to “justifiable homicide.” That figure was only 24 percent for whites, while a full 34 percent of Latino deaths were listed as justifiable homicides.
The data shows a markedly high number of deaths in Texas custody compared to national trends. The database, called the Texas Justice Initiative, is available online.