Unconcerned and Undertrained: The Indiana Jail Death Epidemic and the Need for Expanded Jail Officer Training

On October 4, 2018, Jerod Draper lost his life after two hours of torture by Harrison County jail officers. While in custody of the jail and suffering from an overdose, Jerod Draper was placed in a restraint chair for two hours and tased seven times in fifteen minutes. Jerod Draper’s story is one of the many stories demonstrating how a jail death epidemic is occurring throughout Indiana. In this Note, I discuss the history of incarceration in the United States, the statutes under which families of jail death victims can sue, and Indiana’s jail death problem. I then highlight Indiana’s problematic jail officer training requirements, as well as the composition of the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board, the entity responsible for designing and implementing jail officer training. I also present an analysis of various states’ statutory training requirements for jail officers and correctional officers. Lastly, in an effort to combat the Indiana jail epidemic, I propose two changes. First, I propose changes to Indiana’s statutory training requirements for jail officers that would require continuing education and require jail officers to complete at least part of their training before beginning in their roles. Second, I propose the addition of new voices to the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board, specifically the voices of medical professionals and former inmates.