Scrutiny of Louisville’s jail in recent years has led to an audit, reforms and a new staffing plan.
The ACLU of Kentucky counted 23 in-custody deaths at the jail since 2021.
The most recent was Juan Miguel Munoz Penalver, a 21-year-old immigrant who died in the jail in February. Munoz Penalver’s death certificate, which KyCIR obtained and reported on, listed his cause of death as acute psychosis, “due to (or as a consequence of)” dehydration from “willful/self-imposed refusal of hydration, nutrition and medical care.”
The cause of death, as well public records KyCIR obtained that revealed details about Munoz Penalver’s final hours behind bars, raised questions about whether he was…