Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2009-2019

• NCJ Number: 300953
• Author(s): E. Ann Carson
• Date Published: December 2021
• Length: 41 pages
• Corporate Author: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Publication
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Part of the BJS Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons publication series.

Abstract

This report presents detailed statistical tables on mortality in state and federal prisons. It provides information on cause of death; decedent characteristics, such as age, sex, and race or ethnicity; and mortality rates of inmate populations, compared to the general U.S. adult population.

Highlights:

• In 2019, a total of 3,853 prisoners died in state prisons or private prison facilities under a state contract, a decrease of 284 deaths from 2018.
• The number of federal prisoners who died in the custody of a facility operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) increased from 378 in 2018 to 381 in 2019.
• The mortality rate was higher in state prisons (330 per 100,000 state prisoners) in 2019 than in BOP-operated facilities (259 per 100,000 federal prisoners).
• Almost 87% of the 65,027 state prisoners and 89% of the 7,125 federal prisoners who died in custody from 2001 to 2019 died of illness.