Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Agnotology is the study of culturally induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data. In this Article, we draw attention to a disturbing site of agnotology: healthcare in California jails. Often obscured because of the attention to state prisons, jails were sites of opacity and misinformation, largely because of sheriffs’ refusal to collaborate with data collection efforts—both coordinated by the state and solicited through non-profits.

Building on the data collection effort of the Covid In-Custody Project and on public advocacy efforts of the #StopSanQuentinOutbreak coalition and its off-shoots, we show the chasm between data on infections, hospitalizations, and vaccinations in prison and in jail. We draw attention to the harms of decentralized data collection and argue that systemic paucity of data can harbor abysmal health outcomes and prevent collaboration when it is most needed. We also provide recommendations for improving transparency and collaboration among correctional facilities, and between them and neighboring communities, during public health crises and beyond.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Nevada Law Journal

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