There are two directions a death or a serious illness can travel through a prison wall, and a family usually only thinks about it when it is already happening.
One direction is from the outside in. Someone in the family is dying or has died, and you need the prison to tell your incarcerated person, and you are wondering whether they can be there for it. The other direction is from the inside out. Your person is the one who is sick, or who has died in custody, and you are trying to find out what happened and what you are allowed to do. This article walks both directions for North Dakota, run by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which refers to incarcerated people as adults in custody.
I am going to tell you something up front, because I learned it the hard way and I do not want it to land on you cold. An approval that has been granted is not the same as your person being there. Those are two different things, and the gap between them is where families get hurt.
When the Death or Illness Is on the Outside
If someone in the family is gravely ill or has died and you want your incarcerated person notified, the channel is the facility, usually through the chaplain or the assigned case manager. Call the institution, explain the emergency, and be ready to provide verification, such as the funeral home's information or a death certificate for a death, or a hospital or physician confirmation for a serious illness.
Notification is the part that tends to work. Whether your person can leave the prison to be there is a separate and much harder question.
Attending a Funeral or a Bedside Visit in North Dakota
North Dakota handles emergency trips through an escorted leave arranged at the institution. The Department decides these case by case, and approval turns on custody level, security, the verified relationship, and the circumstances. Read the following as the realities, not as promises, and confirm the current process with the facility, because the specifics are handled there.
It is escorted and in custody. Expect a guarded trip with staff supervision and, depending on custody level, restraints, with the visit limited to a short, private period. People in the highest custody levels are generally not eligible.
It is discretionary, and never guaranteed. Even when a trip is approved, it can be canceled or fall through on the day. Do not build the family's plans around it.
Ask about the alternatives in the same breath. When an in-person trip is denied or not feasible, ask the chaplain or case manager about a phone call and whether a video option for a funeral or bedside farewell can be arranged. North Dakota covers a lot of distance, so a call or a video farewell may be the most realistic way for your person to take part. Ask directly, and ask early.
Now the part I promised you.
I was told I had a five-hour furlough to attend my mother's funeral. I was told to get dressed and wait for the escort. I got dressed. I waited. The escort never came. Word going around was that the warden had been moved or was on leave, and the assistant warden denied it. Nobody walked up to me with a form. The day just passed. What I got, in the end, was a free phone call.
I tell you that not to make you bitter before you start, but to make you smart. An approval that exists on paper is not a person standing at a graveside. Administrators change. Acting wardens reverse decisions. Escort details fall through. If you are pinning the family's grief on the hope that they will physically be there, you are building on sand. Plan the service around the family that can be there. If your person makes it, that is a mercy. If they do not, you were not depending on it, and the grief is heavy enough without that.
When the Illness or Death Is on the Inside
The other direction is harder, because you have less control and the information comes slower.
If your person is seriously ill in custody. Push for medical information. North Dakota actually gives families a specific tool here, which many states do not. Under state law, the emergency contact or next of kin of an adult in custody who has a serious or terminal medical condition is among the people allowed to access the Department's otherwise confidential case history records about that person, as are a guardian, a conservator, or someone holding a medical power of attorney. That means if your person is seriously or terminally ill and you are the listed emergency contact or next of kin, you have a statutory basis to ask for information, rather than being told nothing. Use it. Still, encourage your person, while able, to sign a release of information naming you, because that makes day-to-day medical communication far easier.
North Dakota medical parole. North Dakota's release decisions run through the State Parole Board, which can parole a person when it is convinced the person will conform to the conditions it sets. North Dakota does not have a large, separately branded medical parole statute the way some states do, so for a seriously ill or aging person the practical path is to pursue parole and any compassionate or medical considerations directly with the Department and the Parole Board. Ask the facility case manager and medical staff how a seriously ill person's situation can be brought to the Board, whether through an expedited or compassionate review or through the regular parole process, and what documentation is needed.
What families can do here. Make sure the prison's medical staff know about the diagnosis and prognosis, put your request in writing, use your statutory right as emergency contact or next of kin to get information, document everything, and consider an attorney. Ask specifically about any medical or compassionate parole consideration and about a realistic release and care plan, since where a person will live and receive care matters to any release decision. Start early, because a terminal illness does not wait.
If your person dies in custody. The Department notifies the family using the emergency contact your person has on record, which is exactly why that contact must be correct now. Make sure the listed person is reachable and will tell the rest of the family.
The coroner, the forensic examiner, and the autopsy. North Dakota uses county coroners, appointed in each county, who conduct death investigations and work with the statewide North Dakota State Forensic Examiner's Office in Bismarck for autopsies and forensic testing. Here is the part that matters for families: by state law, the death of a person who is in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or another correctional facility is a death the coroner must investigate. So a death in a North Dakota prison is a reportable death that goes to the county coroner and, when needed, to the State Forensic Examiner, rather than being closed inside the prison. Whether a full autopsy is performed is at the discretion of the pathologist, and some cases are handled with forensic testing and an external examination instead of a full autopsy. If your family has a religious or other objection to an autopsy, tell the coroner and the Forensic Examiner's Office right away, because they will seriously consider the objection, although in many custodial cases an autopsy is required by law and the objection cannot be honored.
Getting the records, and claiming the body. The county coroner serves as the central place for death records, including the coroner's report and the autopsy report, and provides coroner reports to law enforcement and to next of kin. So to get the cause of death and the reports, you contact the county coroner in the county where the death occurred, and the State Forensic Examiner's Office for the autopsy report. The body is released to the next of kin once the coroner's and examiner's work allows. Make your intention to claim your person known promptly, and be clear about who the legal next of kin is, because disputes between family members slow everything down. The death certificate is available through North Dakota vital records. If the family cannot afford a funeral, ask the funeral home and the county about assistance.
What Families Can Do Before a Crisis
Most of the pain in these situations comes from decisions that were never made in calm times. A few things you can do now, while no one is dying:
Make sure your person has the correct emergency contact and next of kin recorded with the Department, and keep it current. This determines who the prison calls, and in North Dakota it also affects who can access medical and case information if your person becomes seriously ill.
Have your person sign a release of information naming the family members who should be allowed to speak with medical staff, even though North Dakota also gives the emergency contact or next of kin a statutory route to information for a seriously or terminally ill person.
Learn your person's custody level, because it affects whether an escorted funeral or bedside trip is realistic, and because of North Dakota's distances, ask the chaplain in advance about phone and video options.
If your person is terminally ill or aging and seriously declining, do not wait. Ask the case manager and medical staff in writing how to bring the situation to the Parole Board for any medical or compassionate consideration, gather the medical records, and consider an attorney.
Keep the funeral home's contact information ready, both to verify an outside death so your person can be notified, and to claim your person if they die inside.
State Resources
North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: contact the institution directly; use the DOCR website and resident lookup for facility, chaplain, and case-manager contacts.
North Dakota State Parole Board: for parole, including any medical or compassionate consideration for a seriously ill or aging adult in custody.
County Coroner and the North Dakota State Forensic Examiner's Office: for the death investigation, autopsy, cause of death, and the reports.
North Dakota Vital Records, Department of Health and Human Services: for certified copies of the death certificate.
North Dakota 211: dial 2-1-1 for grief support, funeral assistance resources, and counseling referrals.
Frequently asked questions
How do I notify a North Dakota prison of a death?
Call the institution and ask for the chaplain or your person's case manager. Explain the emergency and be ready to provide verification, such as the funeral home's information or a death certificate for a death, or a hospital or physician confirmation for a serious illness. The staff will notify your incarcerated person. This step is separate from whether your person can be approved for an escorted leave to attend a funeral or visit a seriously ill relative, which is its own discretionary process arranged at the facility.
Can a North Dakota inmate attend a funeral?
Sometimes, through an escorted leave arranged at the institution, but it is discretionary and never guaranteed. Approval turns on custody level, security, the verified relationship, and the circumstances, and people in the highest custody levels are generally not eligible. Expect a guarded trip with staff supervision and, depending on custody, restraints, and a short private visit. Because approval is uncertain and North Dakota distances are long, ask the chaplain or case manager about a phone call or a video farewell as a fallback.
Will the prison tell my relative about a family death?
Yes. Call the institution and ask for the chaplain or case manager, explain the emergency, and provide verification such as funeral home information, a death certificate, or a physician confirmation for a serious illness. The staff will notify your incarcerated person. This notification is separate from the harder question of whether your person can be approved for an escorted leave to attend the funeral or visit a critically ill relative, which is discretionary and arranged at the facility.
How is family told if an inmate dies in North Dakota?
The Department notifies the family using the emergency contact in your person's record, which is why that record must be correct now. Make sure the listed person is reachable and will inform the rest of the family. Separately, because a death in custody is a death the county coroner must investigate, the coroner and the State Forensic Examiner determine the cause of death, and the coroner provides reports to next of kin, so you can also seek information through the county coroner.
What is medical parole in North Dakota?
North Dakota does not have a large, separately branded medical parole program the way some states do. Release decisions run through the State Parole Board, which can grant parole when convinced the person will meet the conditions it sets. For a seriously ill or aging person, the practical path is to pursue parole and any compassionate or medical consideration directly with the Department and the Parole Board. Ask the case manager and medical staff how to bring a seriously ill person's situation to the Board and what documentation is required.
Can family request medical parole in North Dakota?
Family cannot grant parole, but you can push the request forward. Make sure the prison's medical staff and case manager know about the diagnosis and prognosis, ask in writing how the situation can be brought to the Parole Board for any medical or compassionate consideration, and help gather the medical records and a realistic release and care plan. Document everything and consider an attorney. Because there is no large standalone medical parole statute, persistence and good documentation matter, so start early.
Can family get medical information about an ill inmate?
In North Dakota, often yes. State law lists the emergency contact or next of kin of an adult in custody who has a serious or terminal medical condition, along with a guardian, conservator, or holder of a medical power of attorney, among those who can access the Department's otherwise confidential case history records about that person. So if your person is seriously or terminally ill and you are the listed emergency contact or next of kin, you have a statutory basis to ask for information. Having your person sign a release of information also helps.
Who can claim the body after an inmate dies in ND?
The next of kin. The body is released to the next of kin once the county coroner's and State Forensic Examiner's work allows. Make your intention known promptly and be clear about who the legal next of kin is, since disputes cause delay. To get the cause of death and the reports, contact the county coroner in the county where the death occurred, since the coroner is the central depository for death records and provides reports to next of kin. The death certificate is available through North Dakota vital records.
Is there an autopsy when an inmate dies in North Dakota?
Often. By state law, the death of a person in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or another correctional facility is a death the county coroner must investigate, working with the State Forensic Examiner's Office. Whether a full autopsy is performed is at the pathologist's discretion, and some cases are handled with forensic testing and an external examination instead. If your family has a religious or other objection, tell the coroner and the Forensic Examiner's Office right away, though in many custodial cases an autopsy is required by law.
What can I do before a serious illness becomes a crisis?
Make sure your person has the correct emergency contact and next of kin on file and keep it current, since that decides who is notified and, in North Dakota, who can access medical and case information if your person becomes seriously ill. Have your person sign a release of information naming family who can speak with medical staff. Learn the custody level and ask about phone and video options given the distances. If your person is terminally ill or seriously declining, ask in writing how to bring the situation to the Parole Board, and consider an attorney. ---