The Michigan Department of Corrections has acknowledged errors in its state prison death counts after a newspaper investigation revealed the agency hasn't been accurately or consistently tracking the deaths as it's federally mandated to do.
The Detroit Free Press' analysis of open records comes after Michigan reported to the federal government that 2018 saw the highest rate of deaths in Michigan prisons in 25 years.
The newspaper says state lawmakers wouldn't know about the spike because the department's 2018 statistical report hasn't been published on its website yet. The investigation also found it has excluded some deaths from its reporting to the Legislature without notifying lawmakers.
Department spokesman Chris Gautz says reports submitted to the federal government are accurate, but prison death counts in its annual reports are incorrect.