U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

December 2011, NCJ 236219

by Margaret E. Noonan and E. Ann Carson, BJS Statisticians

T

his report provides an update to annual tables
based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’
(BJS) Deaths in Custody Reporting Program
(DCRP), a data collection that measures inmate
mortality data in state prisons and local jails by the
number and causes of deaths. In 2008, 960 inmates
died in U.S. jails (a mortality rate of 123 deaths
per 100,000 jail inmates). In 2009, 948 inmates
died in U.S. jails (a rate of 127 deaths per 100,000
jail inmates). State prison facilities reported 3,452
inmate deaths in 2008 (a rate of 260 deaths per
100,000 prison inmates) and 3,408 inmate deaths
in 2009 (257 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates).
Consistent with data from previous years, local jail
deaths constituted approximately 25% of inmate
deaths in adult correctional facilities nationwide.
The number of inmate deaths in jails increased each
year between 2000 and 2007 (from 904 to 1,102
inmate deaths), increasing 22% during this period. In
2008, the number of deaths in jails declined 13% to
960 inmate deaths, and decreased an additional 1% in
2009 to 948 deaths (figure 1). The decline in 2008 was

the first decline in jail mortality data since BJS began
collecting data annually for the DCRP in 2000.
From 2007 to 2008, 918 jails reported a change in the
number of deaths to the DCRP. Among these jails,
324 reported a total increase of 452 deaths and 402
jails reported a total decrease of 594 deaths, for a net
decrease of 142 deaths in 2008. The majority of jails
reporting a decline (74%) registered one less death in
2008 than in 2007. Nine jails reported a total decrease
of 69 deaths (12% of the total decline). All nine of
these jails held at least 2,500 inmates on an average
day in 2007 and 2008.
In general, the number of deaths in state prisons
rose each year between 2001 and 2008 (from 2,877
to 3,452 inmate deaths), a 20% increase (figure 2).
In 2009, the number of deaths in prisons dropped to
3,408, a 1% decrease.
Statistical tables in this report detail prison and jail
deaths in custody. The tables present mortality data
by cause of death, selected decedent characteristics,
and state.

Figure 1
Jail inmate deaths in custody, 2000–2009

Figure 2
Prison inmate deaths in custody, 2001–2009

Number of deaths

Number of deaths

1,200
1,000

Rate per 100,000 inmates
Mortality rate

160

4,000
Number

Number

Rate per 100,000 inmates
Mortality rate

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody,
2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

300

120

3,000

225

80

2,000

150

40

1,000

75

800
600
400
200
0

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

0

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

0

BJS

SUMMARY FINDINGS: Jails
Cause of death
ƒƒAfter increasing an average of 3% annually between 2000
and 2007, the number of inmate deaths in jails declined
13% in 2008. In 2009, the number of jail deaths remained
relatively stable (down 1% from 2008) (table 1).
ƒƒAmong the causes of inmate deaths in jails, AIDS-related
deaths had the largest decline, decreasing by more than
half (54%) between 2000 and 2009.
ƒƒBetween 2000 and 2009, suicide (29%) and heart
disease (22%) were the leading causes of deaths in jails,
accounting for over half (51%) of all deaths in jails (table 2).
ƒƒDeath by drug or alcohol intoxication (7%) was the third
leading single cause of death in jails between 2000 and
2009. No other single cause of death accounted for more
than 5% of jail deaths during this period.
ƒƒSuicide rates in jails dropped every year between 2001 and
2007 (from 49 to 36 deaths per 100,000), before increasing
in 2009 (41 deaths per 100,000) (table 3).
ƒƒThe jail mortality rate declined 13% between 2007 and
2008 (from 141 to 123 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates).
The mortality rate increased in 2009 (127 deaths per
100,000), but this rate was still lower than the rate in 2007.
Decedent characteristics
ƒƒMales constituted 88% of the jail population and 88% of
jail deaths over the 10-year period. Females (132 deaths
per 100,000) and males (141 deaths per 100,000) died at
nearly equal rates between 2000 and 2009 (table 4).
ƒƒWhites (43% of the jail population) had a mortality rate
in jails between 1.6 and 4.7 times that of any other race or
ethnic group.
ƒƒAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for about
2% of jail deaths, and Asians, Hawaiians, or other Pacific
Islanders accounted for less than 1% of deaths in jails
between 2000 and 2009 (table 5).

State-level jail populations
ƒƒCalifornia, Texas, New York, and Florida reported 35%
of all jail deaths. These states also had the largest jail
populations and averaged 32% of the total jail average
daily population reported to the DCRP between 2000 and
2009 (table 7).
ƒƒBetween 2000 and 2009, nearly all (from 97% to 99%)
of the approximately 2,800 jail jurisdictions in the U.S.
submitted population and mortality data to the DCRP.
These jurisdictions reported a total of 10,005 deaths over
the ten-year period (table 9).
Cause of death by decedent characteristics
ƒƒMales accounted for 98% of homicides in jails between
2000 and 2009 (table 11).
ƒƒBetween 2000 and 2009, males committed suicide
(43 deaths per 100,000) at a higher rate than females
(27 deaths per 100,000) in jails. Over this period,
males were 1.6 times more likely to die by suicide than
females, and females were 1.7 times more likely to die by
intoxication than males (table 12).
ƒƒBetween 2000 and 2009, whites had the highest suicide
rate in jail (80 deaths per 100,000). Hispanics/Latinos
(25 deaths per 100,000) were 3 times less likely to commit
suicide than whites in jails and 1.6 times more likely to
commit suicide in jails than blacks/African Americans
(16 deaths per 100,000).
ƒƒWhite, black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino
inmates had equal homicide rates in jails (3 deaths
per 100,000).
ƒƒIn jails, the oldest inmates (age 55 or older) and the
youngest inmates (age 17 or younger) had the highest
suicide mortality rates (60 and 55 deaths per 100,000,
respectively). Jail inmates age 55 or older were 3 times
more likely than younger inmates to die of an accident.

ƒƒBetween 2000 and 2009, jail inmates age 55 or older were
between 5 and 7 times more likely to die than inmates age
54 or younger. During this period, the annual mortality
rate for jail inmates age 55 or older ranged from 666 to
870 deaths per 100,000 (table 6).

2	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

SUMMARY FINDINGS: prisons
Cause of Death
ƒƒIn general, the number of deaths in prisons increased
each year between 2001 and 2008, increasing 20% during
this period. Between 2008 and 2009, both the number
of deaths and mortality rates remained relatively stable,
declining 1% each (table 13).
ƒƒAmong the causes of inmate deaths in prisons, AIDSrelated deaths had the largest decline (down 65%)
between 2001 and 2009.
ƒƒBetween 2001 and 2009, illness-related deaths accounted
for 9 out of 10 prison deaths (table 14).
ƒƒHeart disease (26%) and cancer (23%) were the leading
single causes of illness-related deaths in prisons, together
accounting for nearly half (49%) of all prison deaths
between 2001 and 2009.
ƒƒLiver disease was the third leading single cause of death in
prisons, accounting for 7% of all deaths.
ƒƒDeaths due to intoxication, homicide, or accident were
the least common causes of deaths, with none accounting
for more than 2% of deaths in prisons.
Decedent characteristics
ƒƒOn average, males constituted 96% of the prison
population over the 9-year period and 93% of all prison
deaths (table 17).

State-level prison populations
ƒƒAll 50 (100%) state departments of corrections
participated in the DCRP between 2001 and 2009
(table 20).
ƒƒCalifornia, Texas, Florida, and New York had the four
largest correctional populations in the United States. They
averaged 37% of the total prison population and reported
37% of deaths to the DCRP between 2001 and 2009.
Cause of death by decedent characteristics
ƒƒMales accounted for more than 99% of prison homicides
between 2001 and 2009 (table 23).
ƒƒWith the exception of deaths due to drug or alcohol
intoxication, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians,
Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders each accounted for
less than 1% of all deaths in prisons between 2001 and
2009.
ƒƒAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for 3.1%
of all drug or alcohol intoxication deaths in state prisons
between 2001 and 2009.
ƒƒMales were twice as likely (19 deaths per 100,000) as
females (8 deaths per 100,000) to die from liver disease.
Males were 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than
females in prison between 2001 and 2009 (table 24).

ƒƒPrison inmates age 55 or older accounted for 41% of
prison deaths but comprised 5% of the total prison
population for the 9-year period.

ƒƒBlacks/African Americans accounted for 68% of AIDSrelated deaths and died from AIDS at a rate (21 per
100,000) that was three times that of whites (7 per
100,000) and twice that of Hispanics/Latinos (10 per
100,000) between 2001 and 2009.

ƒƒWhites made up 37% of the prison population and 50% of
deaths in prisons between 2001 and 2009. White mortality
rates were between 1.4 and 1.8 times higher than other
race or ethnic groups during the 9-year period.

ƒƒInmates age 55 or older had the highest mortality rates
due to heart disease (664 deaths per 100,000), cancer
(639 deaths per 100,000), and liver disease (113 deaths
per 100,000) over the entire 9-year DCRP collection.

ƒƒBetween 2001 and 2009, males in prisons died at rate of
260 deaths per 100,000, while females died at a rate of 153
deaths per 100,000 (table 19).

ƒƒPrison inmates age 55 or older had the highest homicide
rate (8 deaths per 100,000), which was between 1.6
and 2.7 times higher than any other age group from
2001 to 2009.

ƒƒDuring the 9-year period of prison data collection, the
annual mortality rates for inmates age 55 or older ranged
between 2,007 and 2,500 deaths per 100,000.

December 2011	

3

List of Tables
Table 1. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2009
Table 2. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000-2009
Table 3. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000-2009
Table 4. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 5. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 7. Number of jail deaths, by state and year, 2000-2009
Table 8. Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 2000-2009
Table 9. Number of jail jurisdictions reporting to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, by state and year,
2000-2009
Table 10. Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 11. Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 12. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected
characteristics, 2000-2009
Table 13. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2009
Table 14. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001-2009
Table 15. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001-2009
Table 16. Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 17. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 18. Estimated number of state prisoners in custody at midyear, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 19. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 20. Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001-2009
Table 21. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001-2009
Table 22. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 23. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 24. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Table 25. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001-2009
Table 26. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001-2009

4	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 1
Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
AIDS-related
Cancer
Respiratory diseases
Liver disease
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
Accident
Homicide
Other/unknown

2000
904
516
198
57
31
32
22
176
289

2001
944
488
216
59
25
19
26
143
314

2002
972
508
221
51
39
23
24
150
314

2003
1,004
514
241
54
35
22
29
133
296

2004
1,024
533
227
52
29
35
31
159
299

2005
1,049
504
203
40
37
22
31
171
286

2006
1,098
609
250
54
39
27
24
215
278

2007
1,102
609
232
43
42
49
39
204
285

37
25
17
20

58
35
19
30

55
35
18
42

89
28
15
62

77
32
24
59

84
24
22
129

87
32
36
56

79
18
20
91

2008a
960
446
177
31
25
35
33
145
230
43
15
17
209

2009
948
488
200
26
47
31
30
154
303
64
26
23
44

Note: Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000–2007 estimates because cause of death was ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which
resulted in small changes within some categories.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

Table 2
Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
AIDS-related
Cancer
Respiratory diseases
Liver disease
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
Accident
Homicide
Other/unknown

2000
100%
57.1%
21.9
6.3
3.4
3.5
2.4
19.5
32.0%

2001
100%
51.7%
22.9
6.3
2.6
2.0
2.8
15.1
33.3%

2002
100%
52.3%
22.7
5.2
4.0
2.4
2.5
15.5
32.3%

2003
100%
51.2%
24.0
5.4
3.5
2.2
2.9
13.3
29.5%

2004
100%
52.1%
22.2
5.1
2.8
3.4
3.0
15.6
29.2%

2005
100%
48.0%
19.4
3.8
3.5
2.1
3.0
16.3
27.3%

2006
100%
55.5%
22.8
4.9
3.6
2.5
2.2
19.5
25.3%

2007
100%
55.3%
21.1
3.9
3.8
4.4
3.5
18.6
25.9%

2008a
100%
46.5%
18.4
3.2
2.6
3.6
3.4
15.1
24.0%

2009
100%
51.5%
21.1
2.7
5.0
3.3
3.2
16.2
32.0%

4.1%
2.8%
1.9%
2.2%

6.1%
3.7%
2.0%
3.2%

5.7%
3.6%
1.9%
4.3%

8.9%
2.8%
1.5%
6.2%

7.5%
3.1%
2.3%
5.8%

8.0%
2.3%
2.1%
12.3%

7.9%
2.9%
3.3%
5.1%

7.5%
1.6%
1.8%
8.3%

4.5%
1.6%
1.8%
21.8%

6.8%
2.7%
2.4%
4.6%

Note: Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000-2007 estimates because cause of death was ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which
resulted in small changes within some categories.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

5

Table 3
Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
AIDS-related
Cancer
Respiratory diseases
Liver disease
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accident
Homicide
Other/unknown

2000
151
86
33
10
5
5
4
29
48
6
4
3
3

2001
148
76
34
9
4
3
4
22
49
9
5
3
5

2002
145
76
33
8
6
3
4
22
47
8
5
3
6

2003
146
75
35
8
5
3
4
19
43
13
4
2
9

2004
143
74
32
7
4
5
4
22
42
11
4
3
8

2005
141
68
27
5
5
3
4
23
39
11
3
3
17

2006
142
79
32
7
5
3
3
28
36
11
4
5
7

2007
141
78
30
5
5
6
5
26
36
10
2
3
12

2008a
123
57
23
4
3
4
4
19
30
6
2
2
27

2009
127
66
27
3
6
4
4
21
41
9
3
3
6

Note: Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000-2007 estimates because cause of death was ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which
resulted in small changes within some categories. Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the
average of January 1st and December 31st one-day inmate population counts.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

6	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 4
Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedc
Unconvictedd
Time served
7 or fewer days
8–30
31–60
61–120
121–180
180 or more

2008a
960

2009
948

972
130

841
119

838
110

531
409
127

549
399
125

513
311
107

535
271
108

14
6

17
9

12
12

11
13

21
8

0
0

1
1

1
0

1
2

0
2

0
0

5
103
212
284
266
128

7
105
211
300
264
134

5
108
193
285
276
171

6
103
196
313
306
169

4
101
199
293
323
182

6
84
168
247
276
178

3
86
173
236
257
193

245
719

256
740

227
788

231
802

238
850

247
851

200
755

246
690

362
163
104
120
74
135

398
177
93
121
72
126

399
181
112
112
75
128

385
193
109
129
70
128

387
202
125
149
80
126

392
185
137
146
82
154

347
163
109
122
66
130

364
164
100
114
52
146

2000
904

2001
944

2002
972

2003
1,004

2004
1,024

2005
1,049

2006
1,098

2007
1,102

813
91

849
91

865
107

869
133

895
129

930
119

969
129

453
305
118

515
284
116

536
305
113

538
324
119

502
360
135

561
333
118

9
5

13
6

5
4

10
6

13
10

1
2

1
0

1
0

0
0

8
89
184
265
239
115

8
107
193
282
240
111

7
101
186
337
237
102

258
628

254
683

329
169
108
116
56
119

348
176
105
125
63
113

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

7

Table 5
Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedc
Unconvictedd
Time served
7 or fewer days
8–30
31–60
61–120
121–180
180 or more

2000
100%

2001
100%

2002
100%

2003
100%

2004
100%

2005
100%

2006
100%

2007
100%

2008a
100%

2009
100%

89.9%
10.1

90.3%
9.7

89.0%
11.0

86.7%
13.3

87.4%
12.6

88.7%
11.3

88.3%
11.7

88.2%
11.8

87.6%
12.4

88.4%
11.6

50.7%
34.2
13.2

55.1%
30.4
12.4

55.6%
31.6
11.7

54.0%
32.5
11.9

49.2%
35.3
13.2

54.3%
32.2
11.4

48.5%
37.4
11.6

49.9%
36.3
11.4

53.6%
32.5
11.2

56.7%
28.7
11.5

1.0
0.6

1.4
0.6

0.5
0.4

1.0
0.6

1.3
1.0

1.4
0.6

1.6
0.8

1.1
1.1

1.1
1.4

2.2
0.8

0.1
0.2

0.1
0.0

0.1
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.1
0.1

0.1
0.0

0.1
0.2

0.0
0.2

0.0
0.0

0.9%
9.9
20.4
29.4
26.6
12.8

0.9%
11.4
20.5
30.0
25.5
11.8

0.7%
10.4
19.2
34.7
24.4
10.5

0.5%
10.3
21.2
28.5
26.7
12.8

0.7%
10.3
20.7
29.4
25.9
13.1

0.5%
10.4
18.6
27.5
26.6
16.5

0.5%
9.4
17.9
28.6
28.0
15.5

0.4%
9.2
18.1
26.6
29.3
16.5

0.6%
8.8
17.5
25.8
28.8
18.6

0.3%
9.1
18.2
24.9
27.1
20.4

29.1%
70.9

27.1%
72.9

25.4%
74.6

25.7%
74.3

22.4%
77.6

22.4%
77.6

21.9%
78.1

22.5%
77.5

20.9%
79.1

26.3%
73.7

36.7%
18.8
12.0
12.9
6.2
13.3

37.4%
18.9
11.3
13.4
6.8
12.2

37.8%
17.0
10.9
12.5
7.7
14.1

40.3%
17.9
9.4
12.3
7.3
12.8

39.3%
18.0
11.1
11.1
7.4
12.7

38.0%
19.0
10.7
12.7
6.9
12.6

36.2%
18.9
11.7
13.9
7.5
11.8

35.8%
16.9
12.5
13.3
7.5
14.1

37.0%
17.4
11.6
13.0
7.0
13.9

38.7%
17.4
10.6
12.1
5.5
15.5

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

8	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 6
Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedc
Unconvictedd

2000
151

2001
148

2002
145

2003
146

2004
143

2005
141

2006
142

2007
141

2008a
123

2009
127

153
133

150
123

146
138

143
162

143
147

144
126

144
129

143
129

124
120

128
121

211
128
107

225
111
98

224
114
92

218
118
94

196
126
102

213
123
87

194
145
90

198
140
87

188
111
67

205
101
71

112
88

152
99

56
63

108
92

136
147

141
85

164
123

114
161

105
176

210
113
0
0

88 !
11 !

82 !
0

79 !
0

0
0

0
0

71 !
2!

68 !
0

67 !
5!

0
4!

122 !
52
96
169
396
870

114 !
59
94
168
372
785

95 !
53
87
193
352
691

69 !
53
96
160
362
785

96 !
53
92
165
326
737

68 !
53
82
153
312
853

82 !
49
80
153
316
762

58 !
48
81
157
300
729

86!
40
67
138
260
666

44 !
42
71
143
256
708

98
187

96
182

92
180

94
178

80
183

82
174

81
177

83
175

41
261

53
250

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking
the average of January 1st and December 31 one-day inmate population counts. Inmate populations for sex and legal status are based on the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ),
from 2000 through 2009. Inmate populations for age and race/Hispanic origin are based on the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) from 2000 through 2002, and on the
National Inmate Survey (NIS) and the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), from 2003 through 2009. See the Methodology for these tables for more information on estimates of age.
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown. See Methodology for more information.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), National Inmate Survey (NIS), and Survey of Inmates in Local
Jails (SILJ).

December 2011	

9

Table 7
Number of jail deaths, by state and year, 2000–2009
State
All states
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2000
904
24
…
15
9
109
13
…
…
4
82
38
…
3
31
21
2
9
16
10
2
22
5
23
6
9
16
3
5
15
3
31
15
57
15
1
23
15
10
38
…
17
4
29
97
6
…
34
8
2
7
0

2001
944
27
…
18
13
124
16
…
…
0
100
39
…
3
21
21
4
9
13
22
2
20
10
17
8
12
14
1
5
18
2
17
9
52
17
1
20
18
10
50
…
23
2
28
84
6
…
41
10
6
11
0

2002
972
22
…
24
14
131
14
…
…
10
79
50
…
1
22
14
3
12
12
22
7
20
16
18
6
17
8
5
6
6
5
17
9
51
32
2
30
9
7
51
…
17
1
29
97
13
…
36
11
2
12
2

2003
1,004
15
…
16
22
126
13
…
…
12
85
45
…
2
30
23
1
10
14
32
3
25
9
26
9
18
17
5
2
6
3
38
7
47
22
2
30
13
7
53
…
11
0
23
96
7
…
42
17
6
11
3

2004
1,024
23
…
12
13
120
11
…
…
13
86
54
…
1
41
18
4
15
16
41
2
15
8
20
9
17
6
3
4
8
3
34
17
43
21
1
19
14
15
66
…
16
1
39
99
11
…
34
11
6
10
4

2005
1,049
23
…
27
7
156
18
…
…
11
79
42
…
7
25
16
4
11
22
31
1
23
21
29
8
16
10
6
2
14
1
32
11
51
18
0
24
18
8
57
…
19
3
36
91
10
…
30
11
6
11
3

2006
1,098
35
…
19
11
127
13
…
…
12
99
47
…
5
37
27
3
10
21
26
5
27
14
21
11
18
13
1
6
9
4
36
21
52
21
2
26
21
11
56
…
21
1
30
98
7
…
36
19
6
11
2

2007
1,102
22
…
21
10
129
21
…
…
10
103
44
…
7
31
18
5
7
25
31
1
32
14
18
8
18
25
2
2
10
4
34
15
52
28
1
26
24
4
55
…
14
1
35
90
11
…
59
15
4
15
1

2008
960
19
…
12
15
107
21
…
…
7
77
55
…
1
28
11
2
12
22
34
1
25
17
12
4
14
18
2
5
8
2
27
11
32
19
1
23
17
15
44
…
19
2
37
86
6
…
50
16
6
17
1

2009
948
20
…
11
5
132
14
…
…
8
87
45
…
6
29
16
6
11
17
22
2
20
17
20
3
13
20
6
7
14
5
25
11
35
21
2
27
17
7
36
…
15
2
34
76
12
…
38
14
7
11
2

Note: Jails are locally run jurisdictions under the authority of a sheriff, county government, or other local authority. Jail jurisdictions include counties (parishes in
Louisiana) or municipal governments that administer one or more local jails. See Methodology for more information on the function of jails.
… Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

10	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 8
Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 2000–2009
State
All states
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2000
151
185
...
138
171!
150
142
...
...
242!
166
113
...
112!
178
165
66!
177!
139
44!
154!
210
53!
145
121!
91!
211
232!
234!
288
338!
205
253
208
122
162!
143
208
150!
135
...
194
344!
143
167
112!
...
170
93!
71!
54!
0

2001
148
228
...
132
233
171
154
...
...
0
200
110
...
101!
107
124
129!
159!
68
82
142!
182
91!
103
141!
129
171
53!
211!
333
145!
108
140!
181
132
154!
118
249
132!
165
...
218
176!
138
154
107!
...
185
81!
185!
86!
0

2002
145
164
...
189
229
173
126
...
...
316!
145
132
...
30!
106
95
83!
195
86
81
464!
166
136
108
101!
167
89!
277!
241!
106!
323!
104
136!
166
212
268!
161
119!
110!
153
...
140
77!
138
173
223
...
152
91!
65!
89!
163!

2003
146
119
...
116
352
165
111
...
...
529
159
114
...
59!
140
149
26!
134!
97
115
191!
199
73!
156
140!
166
181
260!
80!
80!
192!
225
95!
154
144
242!
153
158
106!
164
...
100!
0
100
159
112!
...
168
144
182!
78!
224!

2004
143
171
...
82
211
154
95!
...
...
374
143
128
...
34!
201
109
110!
219
98
143
135!
116
61!
111
128!
162
60!
149!
140!
116!
181!
196
210
141
128
114!
96
154
230
200
...
138
66!
168
157
169!
...
133
93!
166!
69!
267!

2005
141
157
...
176
116!
190
136
...
...
475!
125
94
...
178!
84
92
96!
148!
134
104
64!
181
168
159
110!
146
97!
288!
68!
228
54!
177
128!
166
100
0
122
179
117!
166
...
157
192!
149
169
156!
...
113
85!
147!
74!
196!

2006
142
235
...
126
172!
155
94
...
...
346
153
103
...
127!
181
144
75!
130!
124
100
283!
207
101
112
151!
164
116
50!
219!
139!
195!
189
233
161
115
208!
126
191
165!
155
...
165
61!
92
144
107!
...
127
142
139!
73!
131!

2007
141
139
...
127
143!
155
155
...
...
318!
154
98
...
172!
150
104
120!
95!
138
104
61!
228
103
98
106!
152
235
116!
68!
131!
196!
185
171
166
147
113!
127
222
48!
144
...
103
65!
139
130
160!
...
200
109
92!
96
64!

2008
123
118
...
67
203
128
160
...
...
234!
115
115
...
25!
134
62
49!
156
122
117
63!
184
128
68
56!
127
154
112!
159!
106!
99!
151
121!
106
98
104!
119
169
238
118
...
139
141!
139
124
87!
...
173
119
138!
110
59!

2009
127
145
...
73!
67!
166
106
...
...
259!
141
97
...
160!
148
87
154!
157!
95
77
127!
164
129
118
45!
134
173
344!
204!
181
237!
152
133!
124
128
223!
135
162
117!
95
...
119
123!
129
113
173
...
134
107
171!
90!
123!

Note: Jails are locally run jurisdictions under the authority of a sheriff, county government, or other local authority. Jail jurisdictions include counties (parishes in
Louisiana) or municipal governments that administer one or more local jails. See Methodology for more information on the function of jails. Mortality rates are based on
the average daily population (ADP). In 2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of January 1st and December 31 one-day inmate population counts.
Mortality rates between states are not directly comparable because rates are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic.
… Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.
! Interpret with caution; estimate based on too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

11

Table 9
Number of jail jurisidictions reporting to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, by state and year, 2000–2009
State
All states
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginiaa
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2000
2,979
152
…
16
85
74
57
…
…
1
69
200
…
39
91
92
94
96
80
90
15
25
13
83
76
92
125
41
64
20
10
21
34
60
96
23
103
100
34
67
…
51
28
103
253
26
…
76
60
29
71
22

2001
2,964
150
…
15
84
71
57
…
…
1
69
196
…
38
90
93
93
96
78
89
15
25
15
83
76
91
125
41
63
20
10
21
35
60
96
23
101
100
34
67
…
50
29
103
252
26
…
75
60
28
71
22

2002
2,944
148
…
15
84
71
57
…
…
1
69
196
…
38
91
92
93
96
80
89
15
25
15
82
76
92
125
40
63
20
10
21
35
60
96
23
99
100
34
67
…
51
29
102
249
26
…
75
59
19
71
22

2003
2,929
147
…
15
83
71
57
…
…
1
69
194
…
38
91
92
93
96
79
90
15
25
15
82
76
90
124
40
63
20
10
21
34
60
96
23
96
99
34
66
…
50
29
102
249
26
…
75
58
18
71
22

2004
2,913
146
…
15
82
71
57
…
…
1
68
194
…
38
90
92
93
96
79
89
15
25
15
82
76
89
120
41
63
20
10
21
34
60
95
23
96
98
34
66
…
50
29
102
246
26
…
75
58
16
71
22

2005
2,886
143
…
15
83
70
57
…
…
1
68
189
…
38
91
91
93
96
76
87
15
25
16
82
77
86
120
40
63
20
10
21
32
60
95
23
96
96
33
66
…
50
28
102
246
26
…
73
57
13
71
22

2006
2,856
137
…
15
81
69
55
…
…
1
68
186
…
38
90
91
93
95
74
88
15
25
16
81
76
84
122
40
62
20
10
21
32
60
95
22
94
94
33
66
…
50
28
101
246
26
…
69
57
12
71
22

2007
2,835
133
…
15
81
68
55
…
…
1
68
184
…
37
90
91
93
95
74
87
14
25
16
81
76
85
121
40
62
20
10
21
32
59
95
21
93
93
33
66
…
50
28
100
241
26
…
67
57
12
71
22

2008
2,820
126
…
15
81
67
55
…
…
1
68
181
…
37
90
91
93
94
74
87
14
25
16
81
75
84
121
40
62
20
10
21
32
59
94
21
93
93
33
66
…
50
28
100
240
26
…
67
57
12
71
22

2009
2,743
116
…
15
77
65
55
…
…
1
66
174
…
36
90
90
92
91
70
81
14
24
16
81
73
80
114
38
61
20
10
20
29
57
89
22
93
88
33
64
…
49
26
95
236
26
…
67
57
12
69
22

Note: Reporting jails include all jails that reported population or death data to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). All jails are asked to report population
data regardless of whether an inmate death occurred. Jails are locally run jurisdictions under the authority of a sheriff, county government, or other local authority. Jail
jurisdictions include counties (parishes in Louisiana) or municipal governments that administer one or more local jails. See Methodology for more information on the
function of jails.
… Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.
aIn 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics began receiving data from a centralized regional jail respondent that covered all West Virginia jails.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

12	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 10
Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originc
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedd
Unconvictede
Time served
7 or fewer days
8–30
31–60
61–120
121–180
180 or more

Illness
Heart AIDSRespiratory Liver
All other
Drug/alcohol
Other/
disease related Cancer diseases
disease illnessesa Suicide intoxication Accident Homicide unknownb
2,165
467
349
295
289
1,650
2,894
673
270
211
742
1,948
217

407
60

314
35

240
55

271
18

1,368
281

2,661
232

543
130

244
26

207
4

638
100

1,002
920
193

77
330
57

147
159
35

130
126
32

159
62
61

677
707
227

2,022
421
337

407
159
90

171
65
26

77
94
37

364
258
91

21
10

1
2

2
5

5
0

5
0

13
14

59
38

11
1

3
4

0
1

5
4

4
2

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

1
4

1
0

0
0

0
0

0
1

2
56
210
561
763
569

3
9
84
193
146
31

0
6
24
55
125
139

2
8
38
78
95
74

0
3
13
66
150
57

3
86
219
472
558
310

39
576
867
873
414
118

4
89
210
207
135
26

1
34
67
79
65
24

1
47
51
53
40
18

4
73
132
205
193
117

655
1,492

126
336

99
248

76
214

77
212

439
1,199

508
2,370

115
554

79
190

52
153

176
538

695
435
275
287
151
281

35
91
63
104
73
98

14
44
45
65
49
126

60
85
33
45
24
42

67
51
46
46
27
51

501
346
211
218
133
214

1,376
456
300
303
146
282

476
45
20
42
19
55

136
37
17
25
13
38

57
48
23
32
15
33

294
135
69
87
40
85

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000-2007 estimates because cause of death was
ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which resulted in small changes within some categories.
aIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
bIn 2008, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as other/unknown.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
dIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
eIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

13

Table 11
Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African
American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian
or Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedc
Unconvictedd
Time served
7 or fewer days
8–30
31–60
61–120
121–180
180 or more

Heart
AIDSdisease related
100%
100%

Illness
Respiratory Liver
Cancer
diseases
disease
100%
100%
100%

All other
illnessesa
100%

Suicide
100%

Drug/alcohol
intoxication Accident
100%
100%

Homicide
100%

90.0%
10.0

87.2%
12.8

90.0%
10.0

81.4%
18.6

93.8%
6.2

82.9%
17.0

91.9%
8.0

80.7%
19.3

90.4%
9.6

98.1%
1.9

46.3%

16.5%

42.1%

44.1%

55.0%

41.0%

69.9%

60.5%

63.3%

36.5%

42.5
8.9

70.7
12.2

45.6
10.0

42.7
10.8

21.5
21.1

42.8
13.8

14.5
11.6

23.6
13.4

24.1
9.6

44.5
17.5

1.0
0.5

0.2
0.4

0.6
1.4

1.7
0.0

1.7
0.0

0.8
0.8

2.0
1.3

1.6
0.1

1.1
1.5

0.0
0.5

0.2
0.1

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.1

0.1
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.1%
2.6
9.7
25.9
35.2
26.3

0.6%
1.9
18.0
41.3
31.3
6.6

0.0%
1.7
6.9
15.8
35.8
39.8

0.7%
2.7
12.9
26.4
32.2
25.1

0.0%
1.0
4.5
22.8
51.9
19.7

0.2%
5.2
13.3
28.6
33.8
18.8

1.3%
19.9
30.0
30.2
14.3
4.1

0.6%
13.2
31.2
30.8
20.1
3.9

0.4%
12.6
24.8
29.3
24.1
8.9

0.5%
22.3
24.2
25.1
19.0
8.5

30.3%
68.9

27.0%
71.9

28.4%
71.1

25.8%
72.5

26.6%
73.4

26.6%
72.7

17.6%
81.9

17.1%
82.3

29.3%
70.4

24.6%
72.5

32.1%
20.1
12.7
13.3
7.0
13.0

7.5%
19.5
13.5
22.3
15.6
21.0

4.0%
12.6
12.9
18.6
14.0
36.1

20.3%
28.8
11.2
15.3
8.1
14.2

23.2%
17.6
15.9
15.9
9.3
17.6

30.4%
21.0
12.8
13.2
8.1
13.0

47.5%
15.8
10.4
10.5
5.0
9.7

70.7%
6.7
3.0
6.2
2.8
8.2

50.4%
13.7
6.3
9.3
4.8
14.1

27.0%
22.7
10.9
15.2
7.1
15.6

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000-2007 estimates because cause of death was
ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which resulted in small changes within some categories.
aIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

14	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 12
Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African
American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Two or more races
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older
Legal status
Convictedc
Unconvictedd

Illness
Respiratory
Cancer diseases
5
4

Heart
disease
30

AIDSrelated
7

Liver
All other
disease illnessesa
4
23

31
25

7
7

5
4

4
6

4
2

22
32

43
27

40

3

6

5

6

27

34
14

12
4

6
3

5
2

2
5

22
15!

1!
3!

2
7

5
0

30!
1!

0
0

0
0

3!
3
9
32
90
288

4!
--!
4
11
17
16

21
38

4
9

Suicide
41

Drug/alcohol
intoxication
9

Accident
4

Homicide
3

9
15

4
3

3
--!

80

16

7

3

26
17

16
25

6
7

2
2

3
3

5
0

14
21

62
56

12!
1!

3
6

0
1!

0
0

0
0

0
0

7!
1!

7!
0

0
0

0
0

0
--!
1
3
15
70

3!
--!
2
4
11
37

0
--!
1
4
18
29

4!
4
10
27
66
157

55
29
38
49
49
60

6!
5
9
12
16
13

1!
2
3
4
8
12

1!
2
2
3
5
9

3
6

2
5

2
5

14
30

16
60

4
14

2
5

2
4

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Cause of death rankings may differ from previously published 2000-2007 estimates because cause of death was
ranked on all deaths from 2000 to 2009, which resulted in small changes within some categories. Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). In
2000 and 2001, ADP was estimated by taking the average of January 1st and December 31st one-day inmate population counts. Inmate populations for sex and legal
status are based on the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), from 2000 through 2009. Inmate populations for age and race/Hispanic origin are based on the Survey of Inmates in
Local Jails (SILJ) from 2000 through 2002, and on the National Inmate Survey (NIS) and the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), from 2003 through 2009. See Methodology for more
information on age estimates.
-- Less than 0.5.
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a probation or
parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.
dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), National Inmate Survey (NIS), and Survey of Inmates in Local
Jails (SILJ).

December 2011	

15

Table 13
Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-related
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Homicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accident
Other/unknown

2001
2,877
2,573
749
628
225
272
699
169
39
35
23
38

2002
2,942
2,621
804
650
201
242
724
168
48
37
31
37

2003
3,165
2,843
821
776
248
210
788
199
49
23
26
25

2004
3,129
2,787
838
710
219
146
874
200
49
22
34
37

2005
3,172
2,819
851
763
237
154
814
213
56
37
30
17

2006
3,239
2,833
866
765
244
132
826
220
55
57
33
41

2007a
3,392
2,981
710
600
190
120
1,361
216
57
41
29
68

2008
3,452
3,030
859
858
234
98
981
197
40
58
26
101

2009
3,408
3,014
870
911
258
94
881
201
55
50
31
57

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital
Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

Table 14
Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-related
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Homicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accident
Other/unknown

2001
100%
89.4%
26.0
21.8
7.8
9.5
24.3
5.9%
1.4
1.2
0.8
1.3

2002
100%
89.1%
27.3
22.1
6.8
8.2
24.6
5.7%
1.6
1.3
1.1
1.3

2003
100%
89.8%
25.9
24.5
7.8
6.6
24.9
6.3%
1.5
0.7
0.8
0.8

2004
100%
89.1%
26.8
22.7
7.0
4.7
27.9
6.4%
1.6
0.7
1.1
1.2

2005
100%
88.9%
26.8
24.1
7.5
4.9
25.7
6.7%
1.8
1.2
0.9
0.5

2006
100%
87.5%
26.7
23.6
7.5
4.1
25.5
6.8%
1.7
1.8
1.0
1.3

2007a
100%
87.9%
20.9
17.7
5.6
3.5
40.1
6.4%
1.7
1.2
0.9
2.0

2008
100%
87.8%
24.9
24.9
6.8
2.8
28.4
5.7%
1.2
1.7
0.8
2.9

2009
100%
88.4%
25.5
26.7
7.6
2.8
25.9
5.9%
1.6
1.5
0.9
1.7

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital
Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

16	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 15
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001–2009
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-related
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Homicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accident
Other/unknown

2001
242
217
63
53
19
23
59
14
3
3
2
3

2002
245
218
67
54
17
20
60
14
4
3
3
3

2003
258
232
67
63
20
17
64
16
4
2
2
2

2004
252
225
68
57
18
12
71
16
4
2
3
3

2005
253
225
68
61
19
12
65
17
4
3
2
1

2007a
257
226
54
46
14
9
103
16
4
3
2
5

2006
250
218
67
59
19
10
64
17
4
4
3
3

2008
260
228
65
65
18
7
74
15
3
4
2
8

2009
257
227
66
69
19
7
66
15
4
4
2
4

Note: Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. State prison mortality
rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex,
race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bIncludes other specified (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, cirrhosis, and other non-leading natural causes of death) as well as unspecified illnesses. See
Methodology for details on illness classifications.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), National Prisoner Statistics (NPS).

Table 16
Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic origina
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherb
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
2,877

2002
2,942

2003
3,165

2004
3,129

2005
3,172

2006
3,239

2007
3,392

2008
3,452

2009
3,408

2,777
100

2,823
119

3,037
126

2,993
136

3,029
143

3,109
130

3,255
137

3,289
163

3,258
150

1,343
1,164
324

1,404
1,156
332

1,596
1,204
311

1,549
1,182
332

1,625
1,164
324

1,630
1,151
404

1,719
1,226
384

1,823
1,157
399

1,768
1,196
372

25
4

20
12

24
8

29
15

32
12

25
8

34
11

36
18

31
20

7
5

7
5

7
6

5
16

6
4

2
15

7
2

4
15

4
3

2
86
258
657
897
972

1
63
249
663
909
1,055

3
57
277
669
983
1,171

1
82
256
620
964
1,204

1
78
245
601
1,009
1,237

1
60
251
562
1,062
1,302

1
69
226
515
1,031
1,550

3
67
222
469
1,063
1,628

0
69
210
468
1,036
1,624

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are
not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
bIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

17

Table 17
Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic origina
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherb
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
100%

2002
100%

2003
100%

2004
100%

2005
100%

2006
100%

2007
100%

2008
100%

2009
100%

96.5%
3.5

96.0%
4.0

96.0%
4.0

95.7%
4.3

95.5%
4.5

96.0%
4.0

96.0%
4.0

95.3%
4.7

95.6%
4.4

46.7%
40.5
11.3

47.7%
39.3
11.3

50.5%
38.0
9.8

49.5%
37.8
10.6

51.2%
36.7
10.2

50.3%
35.5
12.5

50.7%
36.1
11.3

52.8%
33.5
11.6

51.9%
35.1
10.9

0.9
0.1

0.7
0.4

0.8
0.2

0.9
0.5

1.0
0.4

0.8
0.3

1.0
0.3

1.0
0.5

0.9
0.6

0.2
0.2

0.2
0.2

0.2
0.2

0.2
0.5

0.2
0.1

0.1
0.5

0.2
0.1

0.1
0.4

0.1
0.1

0.1%
3.0
9.0
22.8
31.2
33.8

0.0%
2.1
8.5
22.5
30.9
35.9

0.1%
1.8
8.8
21.1
31.1
37.0

0.0%
2.6
8.2
19.8
30.8
38.5

0.0%
2.5
7.7
18.9
31.8
39.0

0.0%
1.9
7.7
17.4
32.8
40.2

0.0%
2.0
6.7
15.2
30.4
45.7

0.1%
1.9
6.4
13.6
30.8
47.2

0.0%
2.0
6.2
13.7
30.4
47.7

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are
not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
bIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

18	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 18
Estimated number of state prisoners in custody at midyear, by selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic origina
White
Black/African
American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherb
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
1,187,800

2002
1,200,000

2003
1,225,700

2004
1,239,700

2005
1,252,500

2006
1,297,300

2007
1,321,800

2008
1,327,100

2009
1,326,600

1,110,400
77,500

1,121,300
78,700

1,143,100
82,600

1,155,500
84,200

1,165,400
87,200

1,205,100
92,200

1,227,300
94,500

1,232,200
95,000

1,232,600
94,100

425,100

433,800

458,900

453,500

462,800

475,100

479,800

485,800

483,000

531,000
160,600

524,500
165,900

523,500
170,000

519,000
180,100

517,500
183,300

523,300
190,000

531,200
196,100

536,900
187,000

532,700
191,200

11,500
5,100

12,200
5,400

12,600
5,600

13,000
5,700

13,300
5,900

14,300
6,000

14,000
6,000

14,400
5,500

14,700
6,000

2,100
8,800

2,100
9,500

2,200
9,900

2,200
10,200

2,100
10,400

2,200
11,400

2,200
12,600

2,400
12,400

2,500
13,200

2,900
217,900
403,300
362,900
153,200
47,900

3,000
216,900
401,000
362,900
163,800
52,600

2,500
215,800
408,200
364,100
176,500
57,700

2,500
218,200
412,900
368,200
178,600
58,300

2,600
220,500
418,400
372,000
180,400
58,900

2,800
227,600
429,600
384,500
185,600
60,400

2,700
232,200
440,600
391,800
190,000
62,000

2,500
189,200
434,000
391,500
232,200
77,900

2,500
189,100
433,900
391,400
232,100
77,800

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. The estimated number of state prisoners presented is rounded. Mortality rates based on this population (tables
19 and 24) are calculated on exact numbers. Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect
updated information. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
bIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), National Prisoner Statistics (NPS).

December 2011	

19

Table 19
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic origina
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherb
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
242

2002
245

2003
258

2004
252

2005
253

2006
250

2007
257

2008
260

2009
257

250
129

252
151

266
153

259
162

260
164

258
141

265
145

267
172

264
160

316
219
202

324
220
200

348
230
183

342
228
184

351
225
177

343
220
213

358
231
196

375
216
213

366
225
195

219
78!

164
225

193
144!

224
265

240
204

175
135!

244
185!

251
327

212
338

335!
57!

335!
53!

325!
61!

237!
158

288!
39!

92!
132

328!
16!

167!
122

165!
23!

70!
39
64
181
586
2,031

33!
29
62
183
555
2,007

122!
26
68
184
557
2,033

40!
38
62
168
540
2,067

40!
35
59
162
560
2,102

36!
26
58
146
572
2,157

38!
30
51
131
543
2,500

122!
35
51
120
458
2,092

0
37
48
120
447
2,088

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to
reflect updated information. State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Prisoner
demographic subgroup frequencies are estimated based on the June 30th National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody counts, demographic data from the National
Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF). The mortality rates presented are calculated on exact
population numbers. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. Executions are not included; for
data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
bIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) and 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional
Facilities (SISCF).

20	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 20
Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001–2009
State
All statesa
Alabama
Alaskab
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutb
Delawareb
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiib
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandb
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontb
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal prisoners

2001
2,877
87
8
65
42
288
42
30
16
182
93
7
17
86
47
9
21
36
72
6
70
29
114
13
36
57
6
7
27
2
69
11
175
67
3
115
51
24
122
3
71
4
51
408
5
3
71
29
17
49
5
301

2002
2,942
85
14
74
31
337
51
30
15
183
105
13
9
72
50
11
22
41
78
7
71
20
113
15
33
65
5
8
25
9
60
15
185
60
1
114
64
33
126
8
45
11
61
396
9
3
69
30
8
50
3
335

2003
3,165
92
4
84
39
333
47
36
19
221
126
8
12
80
56
13
32
45
70
2
67
30
127
13
58
65
12
7
24
6
59
11
198
74
1
91
71
25
147
8
63
11
97
383
10
5
93
32
15
41
2
346

2004
3,129
65
8
66
34
348
39
33
13
227
90
8
12
98
56
15
30
42
94
4
78
25
138
6
53
77
12
7
31
6
57
16
153
95
1
126
53
34
161
7
50
5
71
395
11
1
86
37
13
40
2
333

2005
3,172
66
4
78
38
366
54
40
19
244
122
8
13
72
45
19
19
43
89
0
57
37
140
13
63
68
12
8
28
8
61
18
170
69
1
121
75
37
149
2
75
4
76
351
8
6
84
45
10
29
8
388

2006
3,239
61
6
72
37
424
31
25
13
261
103
5
18
94
70
12
16
46
74
6
62
39
138
9
59
66
5
8
23
6
70
15
131
90
1
106
80
40
124
8
65
4
84
443
7
7
78
36
13
45
3
328

2007
3,392
54
10
61
46
395
42
27
15
249
143
13
15
104
54
17
20
46
83
1
57
39
117
13
77
78
5
12
39
6
60
22
148
99
0
123
98
36
150
9
72
8
73
436
7
1
103
39
19
43
8
368

2008
3,452
75
14
77
41
369
38
32
15
291
128
14
18
71
70
21
24
69
117
2
69
29
99
17
54
87
9
6
35
5
66
30
133
117
0
101
88
31
145
6
83
6
74
469
11
3
86
35
19
44
9
399

2009
3,408
80
7
85
50
392
49
29
12
278
125
11
13
75
91
14
20
57
108
4
56
29
148
12
52
81
3
11
35
9
58
21
142
86
0
120
79
28
165
7
49
4
69
426
17
3
87
44
18
42
7
376

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital
Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIncludes 9 prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 30, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) for state data, National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) for federal data through 2006, and
personal communication with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for federal data after 2006.

December 2011	

21

Table 21
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001–2009
State
All statesa
Alabama
Alaskab
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutb
Delawareb
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiib
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandb
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontb
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal prisoners

2001
243
365
192!
240
378
178
247
167
225
253
205
137 !
323
188
242
111 !
246
313
369
355 !
293
278
236
208
242
202
227 !
181 !
271
86 !
241
191 !
252
211
296 !
254
232
226
333
90 !
331
150 !
290
278
121 !
216 !
231
189
489
246
329 !
220

2002
245
318
333
254
266
213
284
157
220
249
226
252
163 !
167
250
135 !
251
337
394
385 !
293
199
226
223
214
218
171 !
200 !
248
363 !
208
252
275
181
87 !
254
288
291
321
221 !
203
373 !
343
268
219 !
146 !
223
187
225!
244
191 !
232

2003
258
333
90 !
275
343
207
252
187
280
286
268
151 !
214
185
265
155
354
354
354
102!
278
298
256
178
365
215
420
169 !
236
242 !
224
179 !
300
220
88 !
200
326
210
363
226 !
270
363 !
501
247
227 !
349 !
299
198
392
188
126 !
227

2004
252
261
179 !
212
269
213
198
175
192
277
185
146 !
204
221
256
174
327
336
480
201 !
328
249
284
77 !
334
256
490
173 !
280
247 !
217
252
236
270
82 !
285
235
268
401
200 !
214
158 !
365
253
242 !
49 !
277
218
326
181
115 !
208

2005
253
257
87 !
240
302
223
266
210
275
287
256
140 !
212
161
197
221
210
324
454
0
246
364
286
155
382
219
451
186 !
251
326 !
231
274
269
188
74 !
273
326
290
363
59 !
325
118 !
391
224
168 !
304 !
271
272
252!
133
407 !
233

2006
250
251
123 !
202
293
242
144
128
183
295
200
86 !
278
207
293
139
179
298
364
296 !
270
365
272
100 !
360
219
172 !
176 !
185
216 !
239
220
206
239
72 !
226
347
306
291
219 !
284
111 !
433
280
141 !
327 !
251
209
304
202
148 !
192

2007
257
222
195 !
165
349
224
187
135
205
268
269
230
207
228
215
193
225
301
398
47 !
249
352
231
144
454
261
172 !
269
299
205 !
229
337
232
256
0
248
415
269
333
236!
308
237 !
377
274
138 !
46 !
324
214
409
188
399 !
211

2008
260
302
369
246
310
218
214
155
208
327
237
412
334
155
295
240
277
537
559
92 !
301
256
196
217
419
290
552 !
134 !
269
173 !
261
871
214
298
0
209
488
230
323
154 !
339
181 !
515
335
213 !
190 !
265
205
383
196
735 !
229

2009
257
316
183 !
274
377
230
275
146
174
304
253
324 !
248
165
370
166
232
435
527
197 !
246
255
314
136
433
266
175 !
242 !
275
316 !
268
602
238
211
0
245
433
203
335
189 !
201
118 !
481
308
329
195 !
280
262
360
189
454 !
181

Note: Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. State prison mortality
rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Federal prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held
in federal custody on December 31st of each year. Deaths in federal prisons are not included in the calculation of rates across all states. The state-specific population
frequencies used in these calculations are the latest available, and may not reflect updates that have been made to the total number of state prison inmates. Mortality
rates between states are not directly comparable because rates are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. Executions are not
included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aIncludes 9 prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 31, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) for state data, National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) for federal data through 2006, and
personal communication with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for federal data after 2006.

22	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 22
Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherc
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

Heart
disease
7,368

Cancer
6,661

Illness
Liver
disease
2,056

7,110
258

6,425
236

1,992
64

1,391
77

7,514
434

1,697
85

444
4

346
14

253
10

398
22

3,881
2,804
593

3,564
2,440
538

1,081
513
404

294
998
164

3,845
2,993
974

1,042
375
295

208
149
77

205
67
72

143
79
32

194
182
33

48
14

54
23

41
4

5
3

64
27

20
26

4
4

11
2

5
2

4
3

11
13

10
15

8
3

0
3

7
20

10
8

1
4

0
3

1
0

1
2

0
69
365
1,162
2,099
3,671

1
26
169
783
2,141
3,536

0
5
39
332
1,058
622

0
14
194
639
487
134

2
141
497
1,362
2,528
3,411

8
259
594
527
293
102

1
58
123
132
92
42

0
22
103
132
78
25

1
22
57
70
63
50

0
15
53
85
115
150

AIDSrelated
1,468

All other
illnessesa
7,948

Suicide
1,783

Drug/alcohol
Other/
Homicide intoxication Accident unknown
448
360
263
421

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are not
included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

December 2011	

23

Table 23
Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001-2009
Heart
disease
Characteristic
Total
100%
Sex
Male
96.5%
Female
3.5
Race/Hispanic originb
White
52.7%
Black/ African American 38.1
Hispanic/Latino
8.0
American Indian or
Alaska Native
0.7
Asian
0.2
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
0.1
Otherc
0.2
Age
17 or younger
0.0%
18–24
0.9
25–34
5.0
35–44
15.8
45–54
28.5
55 or older
49.8

Cancer
100%

Illness
Liver
disease
100%

96.5%
3.5

96.9%
3.1

94.8%
5.2

53.5%
36.6
8.1

52.6%
25.0
19.6

0.8
0.3

AIDS- All other
related illnessesa
100% 100%

Drug/alcohol
intoxication Accident
100%
100%

Other/
unknown
100%

Suicide
100%

Homicide
100%

94.5%
5.5

95.2%
4.8

99.1%
0.9

96.1%
3.9

96.2%
3.8

94.5%
5.2

20.0%
68.0
11.2

48.4%
37.7
12.3

58.4%
21.0
16.5

46.4%
33.3
17.2

56.9%
18.6
20.0

54.4%
30.0
12.2

46.1%
43.2
7.8

2.0
0.2

0.3
0.2

0.8
0.3

1.1
1.5

0.9
0.9

3.1
0.6

1.9
0.8

1.0
0.7

0.2
0.2

0.4
0.2

0.0
0.2

0.1
0.4

0.6
0.4

0.2
0.9

0.0
0.8

0.4
0.0

0.2
0.5

0.0%
0.4
2.5
11.8
32.1
53.1

0.0%
0.2
1.9
16.1
51.5
30.3

0.0%
1.0
13.2
43.5
33.2
9.1

0.0%
1.8
6.3
17.1
31.8
42.9

0.4%
14.5
33.3
29.6
16.4
5.7

0.2%
12.9
27.5
29.5
20.5
9.4

0.0%
6.1
28.6
36.7
21.7
6.9

0.4%
8.4
21.7
26.6
24.0
19.0

0.0%
3.6
12.6
20.2
27.3
35.6

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are
not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

24	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 24
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001–2009
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/Hispanic originb
White
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
Otherc
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

Heart
disease
65

Cancer
59

Illness
Liver
disease
18

67
33

61
30

19
8

13
10

71
55

16
11

4
1!

3
2

2
1!

4
3

93
59
37

86
52
33

26
11
25

7
21
10

93
63
60

25
8
18

5
3
5

5
1
4

3
2
2

5
4
2

40
28

45
45

34
8!

4!
6!

54
53

17
51

3!
8!

9!
4!

4!
4!

3!
6!

56!
13

51!
15

41!
3!

0
3!

36!
20

51!
8!

5!
4!

0
3!

5!
0

5!
2!

0
4
10
34
124
664

4!
1
5
23
127
639

0
-1
10
63
113

0
1
5
19
29
24

9!
7
13
40
149
617

34!
13
16
16
17
18

4!
3
3
4
5
8

0
1
3
4
5
5

4!
1
2
2
4
9

0
1
1
3
7
27

AIDS- All other
related illnessesa
13
70

Suicide
16

Drug/alcohol
Homicide intoxication
4
3

Other/
Accident unknown
2
4

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published
statistics to reflect updated information. State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of
each year. Prisoner demographic subgroup frequencies are estimated based on the June 30th National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody counts, demographic
data from the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF). The mortality rates presented
are calculated on exact population numbers. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic.
Executions are not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
-- Less than 0.5.
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.
cIncludes persons of two or more races or unknown race.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP), National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) and 2004 Survey of Inmates in State
Correctional Facilities (SISCF).

December 2011	

25

Table 25
Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001–2009
Illness
State
All statesb
Alabama
Alaskac
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutc
Delawarec
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiic
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandc
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontc
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal prisoners

All
causes
28,776
665
75
662
358
3,252
393
282
137
2,136
1,035
87
127
752
539
131
204
425
785
32
587
277
1,134
111
485
644
69
74
267
57
560
159
1,435
757
8
1,017
659
288
1,289
58
573
57
656
3,707
85
31
757
327
132
383
47
3,174

Heart
disease
7,368
145
14
150
99
460
66
66
25
433
348
19
35
214
155
30
48
144
195
10
130
81
411
21
211
198
12
15
64
8
154
27
361
193
3
327
159
65
385
12
227
21
205
951
19
9
196
72
56
103
15
…

Liver
AIDS- All other
Cancer disease related illnessesa
6,661
2,056
1,468
7,948
132
45
31
227
6
4
0
24
147
76
19
190
77
12
19
109
655
284
106
1,180
56
51
0
159
30
40
4
94
19
5
17
47
579
122
222
645
262
66
66
199
16
11
2
20
36
5
1
29
201
42
55
147
108
40
14
145
45
4
2
32
50
19
1
64
113
22
22
108
229
36
78
171
8
3
1
6
107
22
93
110
59
16
6
69
302
44
33
247
30
9
1
32
102
18
15
103
154
67
16
151
17
12
0
16
12
8
2
19
53
14
9
66
17
6
2
14
118
25
72
130
39
15
2
52
315
69
183
337
224
51
44
192
1
1
0
2
283
47
27
256
150
68
16
161
81
29
4
70
301
114
29
368
9
1
3
7
94
28
28
155
5
6
0
12
143
39
33
172
782
333
119
1,211
8
4
0
24
4
6
3
1
241
56
43
156
86
35
9
91
40
2
4
25
109
20
10
82
6
3
1
17
…
…
139
2,757

Suicide
1,783
10
13
48
24
285
30
42
15
62
52
15
16
65
39
16
12
11
16
2
48
25
60
15
20
36
9
3
17
8
30
15
107
27
1
54
32
21
60
13
20
8
28
224
21
5
28
19
3
50
3
137

Drug/alcohol
Other/
Homicide intoxication Accident unknown
448
360
263
421
6
1
7
61
2
5
6
1
11
16
2
3
8
1
7
2
113
111
23
35
8
14
9
0
2
2
2
0
2
0
0
7
29
5
17
22
21
1
10
10
2
0
1
1
2
0
1
2
9
6
8
5
12
12
8
6
0
0
0
2
2
2
5
1
1
1
2
1
4
0
3
53
1
1
0
0
22
44
4
7
1
9
4
7
6
9
14
8
0
2
1
0
4
3
8
1
11
4
5
2
1
1
1
0
0
3
1
11
6
1
2
35
0
2
0
0
7
8
5
11
4
4
1
0
12
13
18
20
8
2
14
2
0
0
0
0
12
1
5
5
33
15
9
16
2
8
4
4
7
6
7
12
1
3
3
6
16
1
2
2
2
0
3
0
15
12
4
5
31
13
25
18
2
3
1
3
0
3
0
0
4
1
3
29
5
3
4
3
1
1
0
0
0
4
3
2
0
1
1
0
73
…
40
28

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Executions are not
included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
… Not available. With the exception of AIDS-related deaths, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not break out illness deaths by a specific cause of death (e.g., cancer
and liver disease).
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bIncludes 9 prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 30, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
cPrisons and jails form one integrated system.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) for state data, National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) for federal data through 2006, and
personal communication with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for federal data after 2006.

26	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

Table 26
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001–2009
State
All statesb
Alabama
Alaskac
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutc
Delawarec
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiic
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandc
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontc
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Federal prisoners

All
Heart
causes disease
253
65
292
64
190
35
232
53
321
89
217
31
227
38
162
38
218
40
284
58
233
79
193
42
241
66
186
53
266
76
171
39
256
60
358
121
434
108
179
56!
279
62
291
85
255
92
156
30
355
154
239
73
304
53
193
39
258
62
241
34!
234
64
311
53
248
62
232
59
70!
26!
244
78
339
82
255
57
340
101
179
37
275
109
197
73
407
127
273
70
201
45
198
58!
269
70
218
48
350
149
196
53
310
99
213
…

Illness
Liver
Cancer disease
59
18
58
20
15!
10!
51
27
69
11
44
19
32
29
17
23
30
8!
77
16
59
15
36
24!
68
9!
50
10
53
20
59
5!
63
24
95
19
127
20
45!
17!
51
10
62
17
68
10
42
13!
75
13
57
25
75
53
31
21!
51
14
72
25!
49
10
76
29
54
12
69
16
9!
9!
68
11
77
35
72
26
79
30
28!
3!
45
13
17!
21!
89
24
58
25
19!
9!
26!
38!
86
20
57
23
106
5!
56
10
40!
20!
…
…

AIDS- All other
related illnessesa
13
70
14
100
0
61
7
67
17
98
7
79
0
92
2!
54
27
75
30
86
15
45
4!
44
2!
55
14
36
7
72
3!
42
1!
80
19
91
43
95
6!
34!
44
52
6!
72
7
56
1!
45
11
75
6
56
0
71
5!
49
9!
64
8!
59
30
54
4
102
32
58
13
59
0
18!
6
61
8
83
4!
62
8
97
9!
22!
13
74
0
42
20
107
9
89
0
57
19!
6!
15
55
6!
61
11!
66
5!
42
7!
112
9
185

Suicide
16
4!
33
17
21
19
17
24
24
8
12
33
30
16
19
21
15
9!
9
11!
23
26
13
21
15
13
40!
8!
16
34!
13
29
18
8
9!
13
16
19
16
40
10
28!
17
16
50
32!
10
13
8!
26
20!
9

Drug/alcohol
Homicide intoxication
4
3
3!
0!
5!
13!
4!
6
7!
1!
8
7
5!
8
1!
1!
3!
0
4
1!
5
0!
4!
0
4!
0
2!
1!
6
6
0
0
3!
3!
1!
1!
2!
0
6!
6!
10
21
1!
9!
1!
2!
0
3!
3!
2!
4!
1!
4!
4!
0
8!
6!
1!
0
8!
3!
3!
8!
8!
2
2
2!
1!
0
0
3
0!
17
8
2!
7!
2!
2!
3!
9!
8
0!
7!
0
9
7
2
1
5!
7!
0
19!
1!
0!
3!
2!
3!
3!
0
2!
0
7!
5
…

Accident
2
3!
15!
1!
6!
2
5!
1!
0
2
2!
2!
2!
2!
4!
0
6!
2!
2!
0
2!
4!
3
1!
6!
2!
4!
3!
2!
0
2!
2!
3
4
0
1!
5!
4!
2!
9!
1!
10!
2!
2
2!
0
1!
3!
0
2!
7!
3

Other/
unknown
4
27
3!
1!
2!
2
0
0
11!
3
2!
2!
4!
1!
3!
3!
1!
1!
29
0
3!
7!
2!
0
1!
1!
0
29!
34
0
5!
0
3
1!
0
1!
8
4!
3
19!
1!
0
3!
1
7!
0
10
2!
0
1!
0
2

Note: Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Data are from the Prisoners at Midyear series. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to
reflect updated information. State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Federal
prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in federal custody on December 31st of each year. Deaths in federal prisons are not included in the calculation of
rates across all states. The state-specific population frequencies used in these calculations are the latest available, and may not reflect updates that have been made to
the total number of state prison inmates. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. Executions are
not included; for data on executions, see Capital Punishment, 2009 - Statistical Tables.
… Not available. With the exception of AIDS-related deaths, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not break out illness deaths by a specific cause of death (e.g., cancer
and liver disease).
! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.
aIn 2007, a high number of cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as all other illnesses.
bIncludes 9 prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. As of December 30, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
cPrisons and jails form one integrated system.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) for state data, National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) for federal data through 2006, and
personal communication with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for federal data after 2006.

December 2011	

27

Methodology
The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) is an
annual data collection conducted by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS). The DCRP collects data on persons who
have died while in the custody of the 50 state departments
of correction and in the roughly 3,000 local adult jail
jurisdictions nationwide.
The DCRP began in 2000 under the Death in Custody
Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-297). It is the only national
statistical collection that obtains detailed information about
deaths in adult correctional facilities. BJS uses DCRP data
to report national trends in the number and causes (or
manners) of deaths occurring in state prison or local jail
custody.
Information about decedents collected for the DCRP include
selected demographic characteristics, such as sex, age,
race, and Hispanic ethnicity; facility type of death (prison
or jail); date of admission; conviction status; admission
offense; circumstances surrounding the death, including
cause of death, time and location of death; and information
on whether an autopsy was conducted and the availability
of results to the respondent. In cases of illness deaths, the
DCRP collects data on whether the decedent had a preexisting condition and whether he or she received medical
treatment for this condition prior to death.
Executions are collected under the separate BJS Capital
Punishment series. Data on executions are accessible through
the BJS website at www.bjs.gov.
Statistics presented in this report are current as of
September 1, 2011. DCRP mortality data are accessible on
the BJS website.
For more information on mortality in correctional settings,
see Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2007 (NCJ 222988, BJS
Web, July 2010); Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons,
2001-2004 (NCJ 216340, BJS Web, January 2007); and
Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails
(NCJ 210036, BJS Web, August 2005).
Scope of the DCRP
The prison component of the DCRP collects data on inmate
deaths occurring in the 50 state departments of corrections
while inmates are in the physical custody of prison
officials. Starting in 2001 and annually thereafter, BJS has
collected DCRP data directly from state prison systems.
Since beginning the collection, BJS has maintained a 100%
response rate from the state prison system respondents to
the DCRP.

28	

The DCRP’s jail component includes inmate deaths
occurring in all local adult jail jurisdictions nationwide. A
jail jurisdiction is a legal entity that has responsibility for
managing jail facilities. Jail jurisdictions typically operate
at the county level, in which a sheriff or executive manages
the local facilities. The DCRP data identify the facilities in
which a jail death occurs, but the DCRP data are arrayed at
the jail jurisdiction level. BJS defines a jail as locally-operated
correctional facility that confines persons before or after
adjudication for more than 72 hours. BJS does not include
temporary lockups in its definition of jail facilities. Typically,
there is one facility per jail jurisdiction, but the 2006 Census
of Jail Facilities found that 15% of jail jurisdictions had
multiple facilities under its authority. See the BJS website for
more information.
The jail universe file includes all currently operating jails
as well as jails that have closed, consolidated, or otherwise
eliminated operations. The most recent jail universe,
constructed in 2009, identified 2,825 jurisdictions,
representing 3,223 jail facilities. Of these, 2,755 (97.5%)
participated in the 2009 DCRP.
Administration of the DCRP
The DCRP collection forms are provided annually to state
prison and local jail respondents. Respondents provide an
aggregate count of the number of deaths occurring during
the referenced calendar year, in addition to individuallevel decedent data. For state prison system respondents,
aggregate counts are obtained through the NPS-4 (available
at http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nps410.pdf). For local jails,
aggregate counts of deaths are obtained through the CJ-9A
(available at http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cj9a10.pdf).
BJS requests jail administrators to provide statistics about
their population and bookings through the summary form in
addition to a death count. All jails, even those with no deaths
to report, a scenario that applies to about 80% of jails in any
given year, are asked to complete the annual summary form.
BJS obtains a separate report describing the decedent’s
characteristics and the circumstances surrounding the death
for each death occurring in a state prison or local jail. The
survey forms used to obtain data on each prison and jail
death are available on the BJS website:
ƒƒPrison deaths (NPS-4A form): http://bjs.gov/content/pub/
pdf/nps4a10.pdf
ƒƒJail deaths (CJ-9): http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cj910.pdf
State prison and local jail respondents may submit individual
records on decedents at any time during a collection cycle
through a BJS web-based collection system, accessible on the
BJS website at https://bjsdcrp.rti.org/.

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

BJS has modified the survey forms slightly over time. Most
of the changes have been minor and intended to clarify
existing questions and ease respondent burden.
In 2001, additional items on medical treatment in prisons
and jails were added to collect data on medical treatment
received by the inmate prior to death. Text boxes added
to the forms in 2008 allowed respondents to elaborate on
deaths due to intoxication, suicide, and inmate-involved
homicide. Such fields had previously only been available
for deaths due to illness, accident, homicide not caused by
other inmates, and other unspecified reasons. BJS removed
a question measuring the conviction status of an inmate
(since more than 99% of prison inmates were convicted at
the time of their deaths). BJS also changed the survey layout
in 2009 to simplify the progression through questions related
to autopsies. The revised item instructed respondents to
complete the entire form after autopsy results were available
(rather than submitting an initially-incomplete form where
autopsy results were pending).
Determining eligibility for reporting to the DCRP
In the DCRP, custody refers to the holding of an inmate
in a facility or while a correctional authority maintains
a chain of custody over an inmate. For instance, if a jail
transports an ill inmate to a hospital for medical services
and that inmate dies while in the chain of custody of the jail,
that death is counted as a death in the DCRP. A death that
occurs when an inmate is not in the custody of correctional
authority is considered to be beyond the scope of the DCRP.
This includes deaths of inmates on escape status and those
serving time on community corrections (probation, parole,
or home-electronic monitoring). Legal executions are also
beyond the scope of the DCRP. For more information on
executions, see the Capital Punishment series on the BJS
website.
BJS instructs both state prison and local jail officials to
determine first whether the inmate was in the physical
custody of the jurisdiction at the time of death, regardless of
the reason an inmate was being held. For state prisons, this
includes the deaths of inmates held in any private prison
facility under contract to the department of corrections
as well as deaths in any of their state-operated facilities,
including halfway houses, prison camps or farms, training or
treatment centers, and prison hospitals.
BJS instructs state prison officials to exclude deaths
of inmates who were transferred to local jails due to
overcrowding or other reasons but who were still serving
a prison term. The DCRP obtains information about these
deaths through the jail reports. For jails, deaths in custody
includes deaths of inmates who were temporarily out of the
physical custody of a facility but within the chain of custody
of the jail. Typically, these include deaths of jail inmates

December 2011	

who have been transferred to offsite facilities that care for
critically-ill persons. Over half (51%) of jail inmate deaths
occurred in medical facilities outside of the jail facility
between 2000 and 2009.
Custody is further complicated by the dual law enforcement
and jail administration functions of some sheriffs’
departments. As a result, some deaths reported as jail deaths
actually occurred before the jail had custody of the decedent.
BJS excludes these deaths in the process of arrest by using
information about the circumstances surrounding the death.
Identifying and excluding duplicates
Duplicate death records may exist in DCRP due to
overlapping correctional populations as well as overlapping
duties within correctional facilities. For example, a jail
jurisdiction may have more than one reporting unit
responsible for reporting data to BJS, or a jail may be holding
a state prison inmate. Multiple reporting entities may report
the same death, or state prison systems may report on the
death of an inmate who was transferred to a local jail but was
serving a prison sentence at the time.
BJS’ process for identifying duplicate death records is
as follows: First, BJS reconciles the aggregate summary
counts of deaths occurring during a calendar year with
the number of individual death records obtained from a
reporting jurisdiction. When BJS identifies discrepancies,
it contacts reporting jurisdictions for clarification. Second,
BJS performs record-matching to identify duplicate records
within jurisdictions. The matching is based on inmate name
and date of birth, date of death, and date of admission to
the facility. BJS’ review of death records between 2000 and
2009 found 83 jail and 294 prison deaths to be duplicates
or beyond the scope of DCRP. These records were excluded
from all DCRP analyses.
Cause of death information
BJS aims to collect accurate information about the cause
of death. The instructions for completing the DCRP tell
respondents to report death information as determined by
an autopsy or other official medical death investigation.
Death by intoxication, accident, suicide, and homicide
are considered discrete causes of death. While there is a
distinction between manner and cause of death from a
medico-legal standpoint, no such distinction is made in the
DCRP. When reporting deaths due to accident or homicide,
BJS requests respondents to describe the events surrounding
these deaths. BJS added a text field to the survey forms so
that respondents could provide more detailed information
on suicide and intoxication deaths. See Administration of the
DCRP.

29

Due to the variation in deaths caused by illness,
respondents report the cause of death as determined by
an autopsy. These causes are later converted by clinical
data specialists into standard medical codes according to
the World Health Organization’s International Statistical
Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,
Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
Other BJS Sources of Correctional Mortality Data
BJS maintains other data collections on correctional
mortality and deaths in the process of arrest. These other
collections include—
ƒƒCapital Punishment, which provides data on legal
executions. (See the BJS website for further discussion of
executions.)
ƒƒThe National Prisoner Statistics (NPS), which prior
to the establishment of the DCRP, annually collected
aggregate counts of deaths in state and federal prisons.
Prior to 2007, the NPS collected aggregate counts of
deaths occurring in state and federal prisons, and counts
of deaths by broad categories of death, specifically
deaths due to execution, illness, AIDS, suicide, accident,
homicide, and other causes. After 2007, the Federal
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continued to submit the counts
of deaths for these broad categories while state prison
officials no longer provided counts of deaths via the NPS.
(See the BJS website for further discussion of the NPS.)
ƒƒThe Census of Jail Inmates, which is conducted every five
to six years and provides counts of inmate deaths in local
jails. (See the BJS website for further discussion of the
Census of Jail Inmates).
ƒƒThe Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC), which
provides aggregate counts of the number of deaths
occurring in Indian country correctional facilities
operated by tribal authorities or the U.S. Department of
Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. (See the BJS website
for further discussion of the SJIC.)
ƒƒArrest-Related Deaths (ARD), which obtains data on
deaths occurring during the process of arrest. BJS relies
on state-level respondents to provide details of deaths
occurring during arrest. (See the BJS website for further
discussion of ARD.)
Reported statistics
Mortality rates are calculated per 100,000 inmates where
the denominators provide estimates of the number of
person-years of exposure in custody in institutional
corrections. The mortality rate for state prisons is calculated
as the number of deaths per year divided by the midyear

30	

state prison population in custody multiplied by 100,000.
Midyear custody counts for state prisons provide estimates
for person-years for prison populations. BJS uses data from
its National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) collection to provide
midyear custody counts of prisoners. For more information
on the NPS, see the BJS website.
The mortality rate in local jails is calculated as the number
of deaths per year divided by the average daily jail inmate
population (ADP) multiplied by 100,000. The ADP for local
jails is defined as the average daily number of jail inmates
held in a jail jurisdiction during a calendar year. The use
of the ADP as the denominator for jail mortality rates is
based on the high turnover and daily fluctuation in local jail
populations. The ADP better reflects the number of inmate
days per year than does any one day count.
The jail ADP also reflects the annual number of admissions
and mean length of stay, and can be expressed as the product
of these two values. When mean length of stay is expressed in
years, the ADP is equivalent to the number of person-years
spent by jail inmates during a given year. Starting in 2002,
BJS collected the ADP directly from respondents using the
summary form, CJ-9. Prior to 2002, BJS calculated the jail
ADP by taking the average of the January 1st count and the
December 31st count from the reference year, which is a proxy
measure for ADP.
Both denominators provide data for annualizing mortality
rates, which are calculated separately for each key statistic,
by group or by characteristic. The annualized mortality
rates by cause of death in state prisons and local jails are
comparable to annual crude mortality rates reported by
the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NCHS
calculates crude mortality rates as the number of events for
a period (e.g., year) divided by the population estimate at
the midpoint of the period. For general population mortality
statistics, NCHS employs the midyear population as an
approximation to the average population exposed to risk
of death during any given year. (For more information, see
Siegal, J. & Swanson, D. (2004), The Methods and Materials
of Demography, Second Edition, San Diego, CA: Elsevier
Academic Press, p. 269.)
The crude mortality rates reported in the DCRP annual
statistical tables for particular segments of the incarcerated
population are not directly comparable to the crude
mortality rates within the (non-incarcerated) general
population. In addition, the crude mortality rates in state
prisons are not directly comparable to those of local jails.
Since the age, race, and sex composition of the general
population differs from that in state prisons and local jails,
and since mortality is correlated with age, race, and sex, the
crude mortality rates in state prisons and local jails should

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

not be compared directly to one another, or to the general
population.
Estimating inmate population characteristics for use in
calculating mortality rates by demographic subgroups
BJS does not obtain annual data for all demographic
characteristics of prison and jail inmates in all jurisdictions.
BJS uses data from sources other than the DCRP to estimate
the nationwide age, race, and sex composition of state
prison and local jail inmate populations. These data sources
consist primarily of periodic surveys of inmates in custody
in prisons and jails. The inmate characteristic distributions
obtained from these surveys are applied to denominators
(counts of inmates or ADP) to estimate the number of
inmates in each demographic subgroup.
BJS estimated the demographic distribution of the state
prison population data from the National Prisoner Statistics
(NPS) and National Corrections Reporting Program
(NCRP) collections. For a discussion on the methodology
for obtaining estimates of the age, race, and sex distributions
of state prisoners, see Prisoners in 2009 (NCJ 231675, BJS
web, December 2010).
Prior BJS reports of mortality rates for state prison inmates
used demographic distributions derived from BJS’ 2004
Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities
(SISCF). Consequently, the state prison mortality rates
shown in these tables may differ from previously published
rates. A rate comparison between the two sources showed
very little difference in the resultant mortality rates. In most
instances, the rates either matched or nearly matched.
To estimate the distributions of demographic attributes of
the ADP for local jail inmates, BJS used data from several
surveys to generate distributions of age, race, and sex, and
applied these distributions to the ADP. BJS’ Annual Survey
of Jails (ASJ) provided estimates of the race, ethnic, and sex
distribution of local jail inmates for each year of the DCRP
collection and applied these to each year’s ADP from the
DCRP to estimate the average daily population of persons in
these demographic categories. For more information on the
ASJ, see Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 - Statistical Tables (NCJ
233431, BJS Web, April 2011).
Unlike sex and race/ethnicity data, BJS does not annually
collect data on age in jail populations. BJS obtained estimates
of the age distribution of jail inmates from the 2002 Survey
of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) and the 2007 and 2008-09
National Inmate Survey (NIS) available on the BJS website.
For more information about jail inmates, see Profile of Jail
Inmates, 2002 (NCJ 201932, BJS Web, July 2004).

December 2011	

To estimate the age distribution of the jail inmate
population, we first obtained an estimate of the number of
jail inmates under age 18 from the Annual Survey of Jails
(ASJ). Between 2000 and 2010, the number of jail inmates
under age 18 has ranged between 6,100 and 7,615, according
to Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 (table 6). By applying the
annual percentage of jail inmates under age 18 to the annual
average daily jail inmate population, we estimated the
average daily population of jail inmates under age 18.
To estimate the age distribution of adult jail inmates, BJS
used data from the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ)
and the National Inmate Survey (NIS). We used the SILJ
estimates to cover the period from 2000 to 2006 and the NIS
estimates to cover the period from 2007 to 2009. In each
case, we applied the percentages associated with each age
category to the adults in jail average daily population.
Random error and suppression
The DCRP data on deaths in state prisons and local jails are
not subject to sampling error. However, mortality data from
a complete or near complete enumeration may be subject to
random error. Following Brillinger and NCHS, “the number
of deaths that actually occurred may be considered as one of
a large series of possible results that could have arisen under
the same set of circumstances” (NCHS, 2007). The random
variation can be large when the number of deaths is small;
hence, considerable caution is warranted when interpreting
statistics based on small numbers of deaths. According
to NCHS standards, mortality rates based on fewer than
100 deaths per year should be interpreted with caution.
For more information on vital rates, see Brillinger, D. R.
(1986), “The natural variability of vital rates and associated
statistics,” Biometrics 42:693-734. See also the National Vital
Statistics Reports. Deaths: Final Data for 2007, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health
Statistics, retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/
nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf.
Further following NCHS and Brillinger, we quantify random
variation by assuming that the appropriate underlying
distribution is a Poisson probability distribution. This
provides for a computationally simple as well as reasonable
approach to estimate variances for mortality statistics when
the probability of dying is low. We calculated variances based
on the assumption of a Poisson process and from these
variances calculated relative random error estimates, which
are comparable to relative standard error, in that the relative
random error is the ratio of random error derived from the
Poisson variance to the number of deaths. Following NCHS,
when the relative random error exceeded 30%, we flagged
estimated mortality rates due to the instability of the rate.

31

tool to encourage online response. These modifications
led to delays in implementing the collection. As a result,
individual death reports were collected retrospectively for
the first time, rather than in the year the death occurred.
Survey performance issues
Survey administration and modifications to the survey
form generated data for years 2007 through 2009 that may
not be wholly compatible with prior DCRP data. In 2007,
state prison officials categorized a large number of illness
deaths as all other illnesses, which led to a high degree of
missing data on illness causes of death. In 2008, local jail
officials were unable to provide causes of death for 22% of
jail inmate deaths. During 2009, BJS made modifications to
the collection instruments to improve reporting and reduce
burden.
ƒƒItem nonresponse in 2007: The number of illness deaths
categorized as all other illnesses was overstated in the
2007 prison death reports. This arose from a high degree
of item nonresponse in the text box requesting specific
illness designation on the prisoner death form (NPS-4A).
Since the “all other illnesses” category included unknown
or unspecified illnesses, we were able to classify deaths
within this broad category into specific causes when
respondents reported an illness death and the additional
cause of death information. Throughout the DCRP prison
collection, state departments of corrections respondents
were unable to provide more detailed information on
an average of 17 illness deaths per year between 2001
and 2006. During 2007, this frequency increased to 173
deaths. Since many of these deaths would likely have
been classified in the most common illness categories
(e.g., heart disease, cancer, or liver disease), the number
of known illness deaths was low in 2007 relative to prior
years. The distribution of illness deaths in state prisons
during 2007 reflect only the deaths for which specific
illness determinations could be made.
ƒƒItem nonresponse in 2008 jail data and unknown cause
of death: An abnormally large number of cases were
missing a response for cause of death in the 2008 jail file
(n=209; 21.8% of all jail deaths in 2008). This coincided
with the final year the U.S. Census Bureau acted as the
data collection agent for DCRP. In prior years of the
DCRP jail data collection, an average of 6% of all deaths
were classified as having other or unknown causes of
death. For the purposes of this report, BJS categorized
the cause of death for these 209 jail deaths from 2008 as
other/unknown.
ƒƒ2009 data collection: Prior to the 2009 DCRP collection,
BJS reviewed the data collection instrument, data
submission procedures, and assessed the communications
with DCRP respondents with the goal to reduce burden
on respondents. This resulted in modifications to the
survey instrument to facilitate the online data collection

32	

Prison and Jail Deaths in Custody, 2000-2009 - Statistical Tables

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Washington, DC 20531

NCJ236219

PRESORTED STANDARD
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
DOJ/BJS
Permit No. G-91

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300

Office of Justice Programs • Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods • www.ojp.gov
The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department
of Justice. James P. Lynch is director.
These Statistical Tables were prepared and verified by Margaret E. Noonan and
E. Ann Carson.
Morgan Young edited the report, Morgan Young and Barbara Quinn produced
the report, and Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing under the
supervision of Doris J. James.
December 2011, NCJ 236219
The full text of each report is available in PDF and ASCII formats on the BJS
website at www.bjs.gov. Tables are also available in PDF and CSV formats.
Related datasets are made available on the National Archive of Criminal Justice
Data website at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/index.jsp.