Watchdog Faults BOP for Averaging 43 Prisoner Deaths a Year—More Than 23 by Suicide
by David M. Reutter
A report issued by the federal Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on February 15, 2024, identified “operational and managerial deficiencies” in the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) which “created unsafe conditions” blamed for many of 344 prisoner deaths that BOP tallied from 2014 through 2021. Suicides accounted for just over half of those.
BOP came under scrutiny for the most high-profile deaths: The 2018 murder of mobster James “Whitey” Bulger at the U.S. Penitentiary (USP) in Hazelton, West Virginia; the 2019 suicide of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan; and a string of homicides at USP Thomson in Illinois. Spurred by concerns from Congress and advocacy groups, OIG initiated its investigation.
What it found were 187 deaths by suicide, 89 homicides, 56 called accidental and the other 12 attributed to unknown factors. The majority of those who died were White (242), with 224 of all deaths occurring at medium or high security prisons. Of the homicides, 54 occurred in general population and 59 in high security level prisons. The suicide rate in general population (100) was higher than the rate in restrictive housing units (86), but security level had the most impact, with 59 suicides in high security, 19 in medium security and 8 in low security. Tellingly, just three of the 187 prisoners who committed suicide were receiving BOP’s highest level of mental health care.
OIG found that “recurring policy violations and operational failures” contributed to the suicides. Staff failure to complete suicide assessments “prevented some institutions from adequately identifying and pro-actively addressing inmate suicide risks.” Instances of inappropriate mental health care level assignments were also identified. More than half the suicides occurred while the prisoner was single-celled. Guards also failed to make required wellness checks and were deficient in communicating with each other to coordinate efforts.
BOP was further faulted for not adequately documenting deaths nor enacting proactive measures to reduce them. Operational challenges continued to exist, OIG found, noting that “nearly one-third” of the deaths listed “contraband drugs or weapons” as a contributing factor, including 70 overdose deaths. Staffing shortages, outdated security camera systems, staff failure to follow BOP policies and procedures and “an ineffective, untimely staff disciplinary process” also contributed to many deaths.
The report made 12 recommendations, including better staff training and cut-down tools for prisoners who hang themselves. See: Evaluation of Issues Surrounding Inmate Deaths in Federal Bureau of Prisons Institutions, U.S. Dep’t of Justice (OIG), Report No. 24-041, February 2024.