(SitNews) - In response to the record number of deaths of incarcerated Alaskans this year, the ACLU of Alaska formally requested that the Dunleavy Administration initiate an independent investigation into the matter. Friday, the civil rights organization sent a letter to Governor Mike Dunleavy requesting an independent review of the deaths of Alaskans while in DOC custody. The ACLU of Alaska also gathered with community members in a downtown Anchorage peaceful protest Friday afternoon to publicly reenforce the need for this investigation.

In the letter, the ACLU of Alaska wrote to the governor with grave concerns over the fact that 15 people have died while in Department of Corrections (DOC) custody in 2022, the highest number of deaths in custody since 2015.

Quoting the letter written by Mara Kimmel ACLU Alaska Executive Director, "Nine of these 15 people have died since August 4, and the four most recently deceased people were unsentenced and no older than 48. The youngest person to die, Kitty Douglas, was 20 years old and in custody for less than a week."

Kimmel further writes, "These deaths raise important concerns about the Department of Corrections’ ability to uphold its legal obligations to provide adequate care to those individuals in its custody. There are similar concerns about the due process rights of those who have died, especially given that 10 of the 15 had not been convicted at the time of their death, possibly including several people who weren’t even charged with a crime."

In its letter, the ACLU of Alaska outlined in its request that the investigation: 

• Be conducted by a neutral entity to ensure objectivity and avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
• Provide a thorough accounting of all deaths in custody, including causes of death, how each person’s health was assessed, conditions and circumstances of their confinement, and availability and delivery of healthcare prior to death.  
• Identify how these deaths in custody may have been prevented, through both individual actions and systemic changes.
• Identify whether language barriers or staff misconduct played a part in any of these deaths in custody.
• Identify whether any of the people who died were eligible for, or had applied for, compassionate release or special medical parole.
• Be made public to ensure transparency and accountability, so community members can work with state leaders to solve issues that contribute to deaths in custody.

Edited By: Mary Kauffman, SitNews



Source of News:

ACLU Alaska
www.acluak.org

 

 

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