How we investigated deaths in Ohio's local jails
More than a year ago, we set out to find out who is dying in custody of Ohio's local jails and why these deaths are happening.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and USA TODAY Network Ohio reviewed lawsuits, inspection reports, autopsies, obituaries, investigative documents, surveillance videos and other records related to what's happening inside Ohio's jails.
We interviewed more than 40 sheriffs, state officials, lawmakers, criminal justice experts, incarcerated people and family members. We toured multiple jails and filed more than 135 records requests.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction provided copies of inspection reports, jail standards and a spreadsheet of reported deaths. We tracked down coroner reports for nearly all 219 deaths that were reported to the state between January 2020 and December 2023.
The investigation took more than a year, largely due to delays in receiving public records. Some counties produced jail surveillance footage several months after they received our requests and only after prompting from our legal team.
It also took time to earn the trust of those who lost their loved ones behind bars. Many spoke up because they want changes in how jails operate so that other families don't experience the pain they're suffering.
“I don’t want no more families broken,” said Victoria Bristow, whose son Malcolm Willis died by suicide in the Ross County Jail. “When you go to jail, it’s not a death sentence. And when you go to jail, you’re not just an inmate with a number. You’re a person there. You have a family and a life on the outside of this.”
Who worked on the project
USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau reporters Laura Bischoff and Erin Glynn anchored the reporting and writing. Bureau Chief Anthony Shoemaker, Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Dan Horn and Cincinnati Enquirer Senior News Director Jackie Borchardt edited the stories.
Cincinnati Enquirer Director of Photography Cara Owsley, Columbus Dispatch photographers Courtney Hergesheimer, Doral Chenoweth and Brooke LaValley and Enquirer photographers Albert Cesear, Phil Didion, Liz Dufour, and Kareem Elgazzar took photos and videos. Enquirer visual journalist Mike Nygeres produced graphics and an animated video. Dan Kadar and Keely Brown managed the digital presentation. Jason Bredehoeft designed the pages in today's newspaper.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. She can be reached at lbischoff@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Investigating suicides, overdoses and other deaths in Ohio jails
