Sickle cell is a multi-system disorder that in the USA and the UK predominantly, but not exclusively, affects those of black and minority ethnic communities. The disorder is not widely understood, so, when a sudden death of a black man in official custody is blamed on sickle cell trait (for example, Martin Lee Anderson in the USA or Alton Manning in the UK) the worlds of health, criminal justice, and black politics collide.

This ground-breaking book examines:
•    The myths about sickle cell disease
•    The context of racism in the criminal justice systems in the UK and USA
•    The misuse of sickle cell trait to explain away sudden deaths in custody
•    The historic neglect of health care within prisons in the UK and USA
•    The lack of care for those with sickle cell disease within the criminal justice system
•    The lessons both for criminal justice systems, and for human rights and sickle cell campaigners.

The book will interest:
•    Members of the sickle cell community, including families, voluntary groups, and sickle cell chapters
•    Health professionals including doctors, nurses, counsellors, and specialist sickle cell workers
•    Members of the legal profession, including those specializing in inquests, human rights, prison law, criminal law, actions against the police, immigration, and clinical negligence
•    Those involved in the criminal justice system, including prison, police, court and probation services.
•    Coroners and medical examiners
•    Human rights, civil liberties, and justice organizations
•    Advocacy agencies representing black communities
•    University lecturers in criminology, sociology, social policy, ‘race’ and ethnic relations, law, nursing, and medicine

Contents:
“And the All-White Jury Agreed”: An Introduction • Sickle Cell Anaemia, Sickle Cell Trait and Racist Myths • Black Deaths in Custody: the Criminal Justice Context • Dying Whilst Black (I): Racism and the misattribution of death to sickle cell trait • The Context of Prison Health Care • Dying Whilst Black (II): The lack of care of people in custody with sickle cell anaemia • Conclusion: Sickle Cell Not Prison Cell • Misattribution of Sudden Death in Custody to Sickle Cell Trait • Deaths of People with Sickle Cell Disorders in Custody

The Authors:
Simon Dyson is Professor of Applied Sociology and Director of the Unit for the Social Study of Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell at De Montfort University, Leicester
Gwyneth Boswell is Visiting Professor in the School of Allied Health Professions at the University of East Anglia and Director of Boswell Research Fellows, a social research company. She was previously Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at De Montfort University