Deaths in county jail reach highest point in years

In Santa Clara County jails, ten men died in 2022, the highest number of deaths in custody over the past twenty years. A report by police auditor Julie Ruhlin noted that the causes of death included cancer, heart disease, suicides, and drug overdoses. While the sheriff's office conducted thorough reviews following each death, Ruhlin could not determine a clear reason for the spike. Concerns about potential medical neglect were raised, emphasizing the need for accountability in inmate healthcare.

"Just because someone died of natural causes, that doesn't necessarily absolve any kind of accountability for that death," Soto told the committee.

"Each one of these is so individualized ... It wasn't as if there was one thing that we could look to as a cause for why there were 10," she said.

Read at Padailypost