For the third year in a row, deaths of state and local prison inmates have increased, with those dying in state institutions reaching an all-time high of 3,479, according to Justice Department report.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics said that 2013’s state prison death rate was 274 per 100,000 inmates and due mostly to illnesses such as liver disease and cancer. That was the highest since the bureau started charting mortality in jails.
In local jails, meanwhile, 967 inmates died, a 4 percent increase over 2012, and suicides dominated those deaths, said Justice. A third of the inmate deaths were ruled suicides.
Prison deaths have recently made headlines and the Justice report gives one possible reason why: The typical inmate of a local jail dies while in custody for fewer than seven days.
But contrary to the image left by news reports, the typical inmate who died in jail was white, 54 percent.
The report did not offer any suggests on how to curb the prison death rate.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
