Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2009-2019

• NCJ Number: 300953
• Author(s): E. Ann Carson
• Date Published: December 2021
• Length: 41 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Publication

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.