Coroners across Pennsylvania block public access to autopsy reports, hindering research about jail deaths, according to an investigation by Jonah Walters for The Conversation US with support from the Fund. Walters partnered with Terence Keel, a professor, to request autopsy reports in jail death cases from 41 Pennsylvania coroners. Only three complied with state law and provided records. The pair spent more than two years fighting denials, ultimately winning a court ruling that affirmed public access to autopsy reports. The grantees also uncovered evidence that the state coroner’s association led a statewide effort to withhold autopsy reports.
Grantees’ multi-year investigation, which led to key court decision, shows Pennsylvania coroners flout open records laws
