The number of inmates dying in local jails and state prisons has risen to its highest level since 2007.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 4,446 inmates died in 2013, exactly 131 more deaths than in 2012. The newest numbers were released Tuesday.
The majority of those deaths, slightly more than 3,000, resulted from illnesses.
Local jails only had an increase of nine deaths – 967 inmates. Illness-related deaths declined, but the increase in unnatural deaths, such as suicide, drug and alcohol intoxication, and accidents, offset it.
Suicide led as the cause of death for local jails, responsible for 34 percent of the deaths in 2013. The suicide rate has risen 12 percent since 2009.
Deaths in local jails are concentrated; 80 percent of jails reported no deaths in 2013, and 23 percent of inmates died in California and Texas. The typical inmate who died was a white male, age 35 or older, and held in custody for fewer than seven days.
State prisons had 122 more deaths in 2013 from 2012, a total of 3,479 deaths. Illness, such as cancer, heart disease, and liver disease, accounted for 90 percent of deaths, suicides for six percent, and homicides for three percent.
Again, almost a quarter of inmate deaths occurred in Texas and California prisons.
Prisoner mortality rates increased 69 percent from 2012 for drug or alcohol intoxication. Older inmates, those 55 and older, accounted for 57 percent of prisoner deaths.
With the high number of deaths from illness in prison, it’s a sign that prisons could save money, lower the number of prisoners, and lower the number of deaths in prisons with early releases, all without threatening public safety. The issue, however, is that sick prisoners still need health care. Lower prison spending might be illusory, appearing in another state budget.
In 1984, Congress passed an exception for terminally ill federal inmates and “prisoners with extraordinary family circumstances” a path toward early release called compassionate release, according to NPR. However, as a 2013 Department of Justice investigation detailed, many federal inmates died before their application for early release could be processed.
The DOJ pointed out that mismanagement and inconsistencies within the program exacerbated waiting times and caused them to miss cost-saving opportunities.
