The State Line
The county runs the jail. The state decides whether you get to know anything about it.
Every county in America has a jail, a sheriff who runs it, and a judge who decides who sits in it. Those are county offices, paid for with county money. But whether that county has to be inspected, whether a death inside has to be reported, and whether any of it reaches the public — that is set at the state capitol. Same three questions, asked of every state.
Established so far
CaliforniaInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished yes
ColoradoInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished yes
DelawareInspected noDeath reported yesPublished no
IdahoInspected noDeath reported noPublished no
MaineInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished partial
MontanaInspected not establishedDeath reported yesPublished no
New HampshireInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished no
New MexicoInspected noDeath reported noPublished no
OklahomaInspected yesDeath reported not establishedPublished no
Rhode IslandInspected noDeath reported yesPublished no
TexasInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished partial
UtahInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished yes
VermontInspected yesDeath reported yesPublished yes
WyomingInspected noDeath reported not establishedPublished no
Every jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Anybody inspect the jail? | Must a death be reported? | Is it published? | Who inspects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Alaska | not established | not established | not established | — |
| American Samoa | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Arizona | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Arkansas | not established | not established | not established | — |
| California | yes | yes | yes | Board of State and Community Corrections |
| Colorado | yes | yes | yes | Colorado Jail Standards Commission (statewide standards; compliance assessment work recommended to be housed at County Sheriffs of Colorado using peer-professional review teams) with civil pattern-and-practice enforcement authority given to the Colorado Attorney General. Separately, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) sets minimum standards for short-term 'temporary holding facilities' and inspects secure juvenile facilities. |
| Connecticut | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Delaware | no | yes | no | — |
| District of Columbia | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Florida | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Georgia | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Guam | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Hawaiʻi | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Idaho | no | no | no | Idaho Sheriffs' Association (through its Jail Standards Committee: sheriffs, jail commanders, county commissioners, a Department of Correction representative, and a POST representative). This is not a state regulatory agency; the Idaho Sheriffs' Association itself has stated it is exempt from Idaho's public disclosure law. |
| Illinois | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Indiana | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Iowa | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Kansas | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Kentucky | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Louisiana | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Maine | yes | yes | partial | Maine Department of Corrections, Office of the Commissioner |
| Maryland | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Massachusetts | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Michigan | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Minnesota | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Mississippi | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Missouri | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Montana | not established | yes | no | No state agency with a clear statutory mandate to inspect adult county jails was identified in primary sources reviewed. The Montana Board of Crime Control (MBCC) administers 'Montana Jail Standards' and conducts compliance monitoring visits tied to the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (i.e., checking that juveniles are not held in adult jails beyond time limits), not a general adult-jail inspection program. The Montana Jail Standards document itself describes facility self-inspection ('the facility administrator or designee inspects and reviews operations...at least annually') plus separate local fire-code and sanitation inspections, not a single external inspecting authority. The Department of Corrections' statutory powers (MCA 53-1-203) do not include county jail inspection. |
| Nebraska | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Nevada | not established | not established | not established | — |
| New Hampshire | yes | yes | no | County commissioners of each county; reports filed with the New Hampshire Attorney General |
| New Jersey | not established | not established | not established | — |
| New Mexico | no | no | no | No state agency currently has mandatory statewide authority to inspect adult county jails. The New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC), with support from the New Mexico Municipal League, administers a voluntary 'NM Government Accreditation Program – Adult Detention Services,' overseen by its own Accreditation Council; county jails may seek accreditation but are not required to. |
| New York | not established | not established | not established | — |
| North Carolina | not established | not established | not established | — |
| North Dakota | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Northern Mariana Islands | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Ohio | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Oklahoma | yes | not established | no | Oklahoma State Department of Health |
| Oregon | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Pennsylvania | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Puerto Rico | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Rhode Island | no | yes | no | — |
| South Carolina | not established | not established | not established | — |
| South Dakota | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Tennessee | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Texas | yes | yes | partial | Texas Commission on Jail Standards |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Utah | yes | yes | yes | Jail operations are largely governed by Utah Sheriffs' Association jail standards (developed with outside counsel, not a state regulatory body); separately, the Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) has historically conducted fire/life/safety inspections and security reviews of county jails that hold state inmates under contract, though a 2008 legislative audit found this UDC oversight fragmented and recommended dedicated contract monitors. |
| Vermont | yes | yes | yes | Prisoners' Rights Office, Office of the Defender General |
| Virginia | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Washington | not established | not established | not established | — |
| West Virginia | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Wisconsin | not established | not established | not established | — |
| Wyoming | no | not established | no | — |
14 of 56 jurisdictions established. The rest are marked “not established” because we have not read the statute yet — not because the answer is no.
A “yes” in the middle column is not the finish line. Texas has the strongest death-reporting law in the country — and the public copy of its custodial death list was last refreshed in August 2025. They keep count. They just stopped reporting it.