That presupposes the families of dead inmates don't want the information revealed. And it ignores the public's need to have information to hold government officials accountable when the jail system has repeatedly failed the most basic duty of keeping inmates alive.

If their job is holding prisoners, and prisoners die on their watch, they don't get the benefit of the doubt. They need scrutiny. And the more information they withhold, the more suspicious we should be.

Maybe we should err on the side of being more skeptical of government officials denying requests for information than we are of journalists asking for information about inmate deaths.

It's not common to cite the code number unless it's an analysis article. I see this same thing in articles about tax changes.

Are you thinking they failed to include the code number in order to avoid scrutiny?

Thanks! Forgot where I parked it

Reddit posts don't turn good cops into bad cops. Unchecked power does.