Podcast Summary:

Podcast: New Books Network
Episode: Terence Keel, "The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence" (Beacon Press, 2025)
Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Sullivan Sommer
Guest: Terence Keel, Professor at UCLA and author

Overview of the Episode

This episode features a discussion between host Sullivan Sommer and UCLA professor Terence Keel about his groundbreaking book, The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence. The conversation centers on how U.S. death investigation systems, especially coroner’s and medical examiner’s records, obscure the full reality and scale of police violence. Keel reveals hidden flaws, systemic erasures, and the deep democratic and health implications that affect people far beyond high-profile cases. Drawing on deep research, data aggregation, and powerful personal stories, Keel challenges many assumptions Americans make about justice, transparency, and how the state counts (or fails to count) the dead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Book’s Impetus and Central Argument

• The public killing of George Floyd (02:52) was a turning point for Keel, especially the gap between what he saw and how the official autopsy was framed.
• Keel notes a systemic bias in autopsy records—emphasizing victims’ “pre-existing conditions” and downplaying or erasing police agency.

  "Reading these records is that they are written in such a way where the agency of Police and law enforcement is minimized, erased, downplayed. And what gets elevated very often are the actions and behavior and pre existing conditions of the people who die in police custody." (05:26)

The Surprisingly Limited Public Access to Death Records

• Autopsies are public records in only 14 states; in 11 others, they can be FOIA'd but are often withheld. In over half the states, they are inaccessible or unspecified by law (15:23).
• This lack of access is not a simple red/blue state split. For instance, New Yorkers cannot obtain autopsies, while Texans and Floridians can (16:00).

The Scale of Deaths in Police Custody

• On average, American police kill 1,200 people per year during or while attempting to effect an arrest—more than in Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK combined (11:18).
• Keel stresses this figure is an undercount due to conflicts of interest and underreporting by law enforcement. He estimates five people die daily in police custody, but "we're really only going to know the names of three" (12:22).

Broken, Fragmented Systems & Legal Inconsistencies

• Only six states require a mandatory autopsy for deaths in police custody. Everywhere else, laws are murky (07:49).
• There’s no comprehensive national registry of those who died in police custody before 2000, making historical understanding and comparison nearly impossible (13:30-14:23).

Who Are the Victims?

• Every demographic is represented among deaths in custody: black, Latino, white, Christian, nonbinary, unhoused, disabled, suffering from substance issues (07:49).
• Vulnerable populations are overrepresented, but no group is untouched.

How Data Gaps Hide the Reality

• Government data is piecemeal: The Bureau of Justice Statistics covers jail deaths, but not prisons or arrest-related deaths; prisons have separate, mostly unavailable streams (19:08).
• Civil society organizations and researchers (like Fatal Encounters) have stepped in to fill gaps with crowd-sourced data (19:45).

Historical Roots of Medical & Legal Neglect

• Keel traces roots back to the end of Reconstruction, when government began withdrawing support for black Americans, an abandonment with lasting consequences for health and justice infrastructure (23:19).
• The “death investigation system” once had democratic elements—public inquests were the rule—but has become opaque, less accountable, and more insular (32:52, 34:00).

The Language of Death Records: Systemic Disguise

• Autopsy records often use euphemistic, passive or misleading language—“light restraint maneuver” instead of “chokehold,” or focus on a victim’s uncooperativeness and health, not police action (38:12).

  "These records read as if people are dying alone, as if they are not in the presence of policing and law enforcement." (38:34)

• "Undetermined" is improperly used in death certificates, even when jails are "data-rich environments," undermining accountability (46:30).

The “List of Lost Lives” – Making the Dead Visible

• Keel’s team assembled a dataset of 32,104 deaths during arrest in the U.S. from 2000-2020—more than twice as many as all judicial executions in American history since 1608 (27:10).

  "In just 20 years, police have killed more than twice the number of all people who have been executed in American history going back to 1608." (28:50)

• This list is publicly available via UCLA’s Dataverse project.

Broader Societal Costs and Public Health

• The absence of a consistent social safety net—access to healthcare, stable housing, and addiction treatment—funnels vulnerable people into the criminal justice system (19:08, 23:19).
• America’s patchwork health legacy is deeply tied to race and class, but ultimately harms all Americans (23:19).

What Would Real Transparency and Accountability Look Like?

• Medical examiners could—and sometimes should—attribute death to “institutional neglect” or “medical negligence,” acknowledging systemic causes, not just individual failings (41:37, 42:52).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Opening Reflection on Bearing Witness:

  "A part of me had to perish to write these pages. Pages that open the coroner's death records and the hidden victims of police violence..." (01:07)

• Host’s Shock at Discovering Broken Assumptions:

  "I did not realize till reading this book how many assumptions I had simply as an American about the way that these systems work. And that was the most shocking to me..." (06:13)

• On Systemic Obfuscation:

  "We create statistics for things that we care about. And while we do have a system in place, it isn't actually getting to the truth in the way that we need." (13:30)

• On Who Pays for Official Settlements:

  "If you die in custody and family raises the lawsuit...and they find that the medical examiner says...that then makes it more possible to file a settlement against the county. And you know who pays for that settlement? The same people that appoint the medical examiner..." (36:38)

• Sharp Statistic:

  "Americans know more about the number of flights delayed on any given day of the year than the number of people dying in police custody." (30:19, quoting Alex Piccaro, BJS)

• Practical Challenge to Listeners (Call to Action):

  "Find your local organization that's already working on reforming either the death investigation system or police transparency or government record transparency. These are public goods that have to be defended and fought for in a democracy." (51:49)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | | -----------| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 02:52 | The George Floyd autopsy and the origins of Keel's inquiry | | 05:26 | How autopsy records erase police agency, protect law enforcement | | 07:49 | Who dies in custody – it's not just “others”/ vulnerable populations touched | | 11:18 | Statistics: 1,200 die annually in police custody; international comparisons | | 12:22 | Why the official numbers are a significant undercount | | 13:30 | No national registry for deaths in custody prior to 2000 | | 15:23 | Limited and inconsistent public access to autopsy records by state | | 19:08 | Disjointed federal recordkeeping and the need for crowdsourced data | | 23:19 | Historical perspective: Reconstruction, health, race, and public health breakdown | | 27:10 | The “List of Lost Lives” and Keel’s data on deaths in custody | | 30:19 | Americans know more about flight delays than police deaths (memorable quote) | | 32:52 | Historical evolution and erosion of democratic death investigations | | 34:07 | Modern death investigation: coroners as insulated, unaccountable, first line of state defense | | 38:12 | On the language of death records—how “light restraint” obfuscates reality | | 41:37 | The need for robust, clear, courageous language in autopsy records | | 46:30 | The misuse of “undetermined” to avoid explicit accountability | | 49:18 | Reception of the book—shock, gratitude, and community organizing | | 51:49 | Tangible steps for listeners—joining local organizations, seeing ourselves in victims |

Tone and Style

The conversation is urgent but scholarly, empathetic yet unflinching. Keel and Sommer maintain a tone of moral seriousness, dedication to the public good, and focus on evidence over rhetoric. Keel’s language is accessible, sometimes deeply personal, and emphasizes the collective imperative to bear witness—and to act.

Call to Action

Keel urges listeners to:

• Get involved with local organizations fighting for government transparency, police accountability, and improved death investigations (51:49).
• See themselves in the victims, breaking down the artificial moral boundary between those in custody and everyone else (52:30).
• Recognize this as a democracy and public health crisis, not only a matter of policing.

Further Resources

• Book: The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence by Terence Keel
• Data: List of Lost Lives available through UCLA Dataverse
• Contact/More: TerrenceKeel.com

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in justice, democracy, public health, and the true scope of police violence in America. It challenges assumptions, spotlights systemic failures, and highlights both the power of data and the necessity of community action.