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Student Name Student Number Article Title: Naturalizing Unnatural Death in Los Angeles County jails Name of TA Attended Tutorial Introduction Shapiro and Keel (2023) highlight how death investigations in LA County jails disproportionately classify deaths among Black and Latino prisoners as natural or undetermined, despite the possibility of harmful effects of incarnation to minimize the responsibility of prison staff. The researchers are concerned that mass incarcerations targeting Black and Latino people have exposed them to dangers even in custody. Concerned about the increasing cases of life-threatening punishment in Los Angeles (LA) jails and the use of biomedical knowledge to diminish the responsibility of law enforcement officers, the goal of the study is to shed light on the biases and systematic biases in death investigations in the LA County jails. Overview Methodology The article uses a mixed methods approach to analyze the 58 autopsies of deaths that took place between 2009 and 2018 from four country jails in Los Angeles. Data was obtained from the proceedings of the LA County Claims Board, the board’s website, and a second autopsy report from a family. The study also relied on coroner investigator narratives and toxicology reports done within the years under investigation. To systematically analyze the autopsies, the investigators used peer-reviewed materials on forensic pathology and conceptual ideas from activists Jones and Infante, who had extensive experience in medico-legal bureaucracy on the making of death investigations in the jail system within the county. Findings (results) The results indicate that death determinations by the medical examiner minimized the liability of the law enforcement staff for the loss of life in the jails. This was done through incomplete documentation and the lack of adherence to the recommendations of the National Association of Medical Examiners' (NAME) (Shapiro 2023, 14). The researchers analyzed the autopsies based on NAME recommendations regarding reporting deaths in custody. The results reviewed that in all the cases, the forensic investigator and the deputy medical examiner (DME) consulted the decedent's pertinent health records as NAME recommends while writing the autopsy reports. The omission of this critical procedure is instrumental since it shows a systematic failure to include comprehensive medical histories when assessing the cause of death, which adversely affects the accuracy of death determinations. Further, the results indicated insufficient documentation. In most cases, the forensic investigator and the DME did not directly consult the decedent's medical records like jail records or EMS run sheets. Additionally, the results demonstrated a conflict of interest due to the presence of law enforcement officers and the involvement of sheriff staff during autopsies. The results showed that law enforcement attended 51 out of the 58 autopsies analyzed. In all the cases that were termed "natural," law enforcement was present in all, but two cases. At the same time, the results showed that Dr. Nickolay Teophilov, the Chief Physician at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), attended 14 autopsies. Dr. Teophilov supervises medical care in LA jails. Additionally, the results show a disproportionate classification of Black and Latino deaths as natural or undetermined despite being a result of jail conditions. Black people accounted for 64% of natural deaths, despite being 38% of the sample population and 8% of the country's population (Shapiro 2023, 8). 13.79% of cases were categorized as determined and all of them were Latino and Black with an average of 24.5 years. The racialized production of unnatural death and non-determination was evident in pre-trial detention. 78% of the reviewed autopsies were for individuals held before trial. A majority of the people in pre-trial detention are Black and Latino people. The inability to secure bail for people of color increases their chances of detention especially given that bail judges tend to be biased against Black defendants Interpretations (analyses) The insufficient documentation raises doubt about the reliability of the investigative process that eventually led to the final autopsy report. The failure to consult pertinent medical records meant that the basis of establishing the cause of death could be biased towards a desired outcome by the law enforcement agency. Moreover, having law enforcement officers during autopsies is problematic because it introduces a potential conflict of interest. The officers could exert undue influence on the outcome of the determinations. In particular, the presence of personnel from the LASD could have led to wrong conclusions, since the officers might have an interest in reducing their liability or the perception of neglect or abuse for people in custody. As a result, such law enforcement officers can compromise the perceived impartiality of the outcomes of the autopsies. Furthermore, the presence of Dr. Teophilov in 24% of the autopsies indicat...