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TERENCE KEEL

PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, & DIRECTOR OF THE BIOCRITICAL STUDIES LAB

Terence Keel - Background.png

The BioCritical Studies Lab

Under the direction of Professor Terence Keel, the UCLA Lab for BioCritical Studies explores the complex interactions between human biology and society.

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THE CORONER REPORT PROJECT

Death under the U.S. Medical Examiner-Coroner System

The UCLA BioCritical Studies Lab has emerged as a leading authority on lethal police violence in the United States. Using data science, critical forensic analysis, public health research, and legal studies, we have identified critical patterns in how police related deaths are investigated, reported, and addressed. The Coroner Report Project has produced several reports and provided the basis for my book, The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence (Beacon Press, 2025).

Click here for the complete roster of BCS lab members.

Target Practice, 1970
Elizabeth Catlett Bronze, 20x14x22 inches

Data and Research Materials

Autopsy Reports Discussed in The Coroner's Silence

LA County In-Custody Death Data
(2008-2019)

Nationwide List of Lost Lives

Research Methodology and Supplementary Documents

Reports

"Deaths in Dauphin County Prison (Harrisburg, Penn.), 2008-2022"

"Report: Los Angeles County Jail Deaths 2009"

"In-Custody Deaths in Ten MD Detention Centers, 2008-2019"

"Natural Causes? 59 Autopsies Prove Otherwise"

Media

"How UCLA students use autopsy reports to help keep police accountable"

Terence Keel on "Tavis Smiley"

"Study of Inmate Autopsies Renews Call to Close LA County Sheriff’s Men’s Central Jail"

"Study: Deaths of Black and Latino men in LA County jails misclassified"

Testimony for the MD State Senate

"Medical examiners impacted by relationships with police, study finds"

"UCLA Researchers Say More Than Half of 'Natural' LA Jail Deaths Studied Show Evidence Of Physical Harm"

"Study: Deaths of Black and Latino Men in LA County Jails Misclassified"

Collaborators

Helen Jones

Community Activist and Organizer | Robert Wood Johnson IRL Fellow

Aziza Ahmed PhD

Professor of Law | Boston University School of Law

Jonah Walters PhD

BCS Lab Postdoctorate Fellow

Anna Robinson-Sweet

Information Studies PhD Researcher | University of California, Los Angeles

Lauren Brown PhD, MPH

Gerontologist and Data Scientist| USC

Carmen Johnson PhD

Founder of Helping Ourselves to Transform

Maggie Woodruff
JD

Legal Scholar and Anthropologist | University of California, Irvine

Elizabeth Rossi

Lawyer and Director of Civil Rights Corp's Strategic Initiatives

Partners

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