Report: 9 of the 10 People Who Died in Oregon Jails in 2020 Had a Disability
Many individuals were not healthy enough to be in jail, many deaths were preventable
Our investigative report, Grave Consequences: How the Criminalization of Disability Leads to Deaths in Jail, found that most of the people who died in Oregon jails in 2020 had a disability. As the jail population plummeted in response to the threat of COVID-19, the number of deaths in Oregon jails rose.
The report sheds light, for the first time, on the systemic failures—by both hospitals and jails— that contributed to the deaths of 10 individuals in jails in Clatsop, Deschutes, Jackson, Klamath, Marion, and Polk counties, as well as the Springfield Municipal Jail and the NORCOR detention center in The Dalles. DRO’s investigation documents the systemic failures that led to the loss of human life.
Key findings
DRO’s investigation found the following jail conditions put individuals with disabilities at risk of deadly harm.
Jails use restraint practices banned in clinical settings.
Jails inadequately assess medical conditions.
Jails are unable to provide necessary treatment.
Jails often failed to take measures to prevent suicide, even when detainees presented with known risks of suicide.
Oregon lacks meaningful transparency and oversight of jail safety and healthcare.
Detainees cycle in and out of jail due to the lack of community treatment options.
Solutions
DRO’s recommendations include:
Produce adequate healthcare standards and effective suicide protocols for Oregon jails
Strengthen jail oversight and
Prevent the criminalization and improper incarceration of people with disabilities.
Press Release
9 of the 10 people who died in Oregon jails last year had a disability (February 8, 2021)
Sign our petition
This human rights catastrophe stems from our failure to build a strong community healthcare program for people with mental illness. Remedying this is a civil rights issue whose time has come.
You can help. Sign our petition asking local leaders to invest in the community services needed to stop this phenomenon.
Some sheriffs have stepped forward to voice their support for diverting people who experience a mental health condition and are charged with low-level offenses from the criminal justice system. Ask your county sheriff to support these principles to decriminalize mental illness.