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

April 2021, NCJ 255970

E. Ann Carson, Ph.D., BJS Statistician

I

n 2018, a total of 4,135 state prisoners died
in publicly or privately operated prisons,
and an additional 378 federal prisoners died
in facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP).1 In state prisons, the number
of deaths rose 5% from 2017 (3,943) to 2018
(4,135), the highest level since the Bureau
of Justice Statistics (BJS) began collecting
information on mortality in state prisons in 2001
(figure 1). Between 2001 and 2018, the total
number of state prisoners in custody increased
1%, while the number of deaths in state prisons
rose 44%. Deaths of federal prisoners decreased
almost 1% from 2017 to 2018 (from 381 to 378).
1BJS began receiving federal prison mortality data from

privately operated facilities that were under a BOP contract
in 2015. To preserve the time series back to 2001, the federal
mortality data in this report does not include deaths in
privately operated federal facilities. Nine federal prisoners
died in private facilities in 2015, seven in 2016 and 2017,
and five in 2018.

FIGURE 1
Number of state and federal prisoner deaths,
2001–2018
Number of deaths
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000

6,744
6,051
61,130

■ Federal
■ State

a

-

53,355

30,000
20,000
597

10,000
0

Total

Naturalb
Type of death

6,981
Unnaturalc

aExcludes deaths in private federal facilities.
bIncludes deaths due to illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer,

liver disease, and AIDS-related deaths.

cIncludes deaths due to external factors and causes, such as

suicide, homicide, and accidental deaths.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional
Institutions, 2001–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001–2018.

Highlights
ƒƒIn 2018, the number of deaths (4,135 prisoners)
and the mortality rate (344 deaths per 100,000
prisoners) in state prisons were the highest
since the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began
collecting mortality data from state prisons
in 2001.
ƒƒThe number of state prisoners who committed
suicide increased 20% from 2017 (259) to 2018
(311), marking the highest number of suicides
that BJS has recorded in 18 years of collecting
mortality data.
ƒƒState prisoners had a lower overall mortality rate
(319 per 100,000) than did adult U.S. residents
(419 per 100,000) in 2018 when the data were
adjusted for differences in age, sex, and race or
ethnicity between the two populations.

ƒƒState prisoners in 2018 were slightly more
likely to die of cancer, liver disease, and suicide
and more than twice as likely to die from
homicide than the adjusted population of adult
U.S. residents.
ƒƒTen in 100,000 state prisoners died from
homicide in 2018, the highest homicide rate in
state prisons since 2001.
ƒƒWhite prisoners accounted for more than half of
all deaths in state prisons in 2018 (53%), while
they made up less than one-third (32%) of the
state prison population.
ƒƒIn 2018, the rate at which federal prisoners
died of illness (190 deaths per 100,000
federal prisoners) was the lowest since 2012
(182 per 100,000).

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons,
2001-2018 – Statistical Tables

Mortality rate
The mortality rate for state prisoners was 344 per
100,000 state prisoners in 2018, up from 323 per
100,000 in 2017 (figure 2). This was the highest rate
recorded since 2001. While the absolute number of
federal prisoners who died in BOP-operated facilities
declined from 2017 to 2018, the mortality rate for
federal prisoners increased by almost 2% between 2017
(246 deaths per 100,000 federal prisoners) and 2018
(250 per 100,000). The increase in the rate was due to
the decrease in total number of federal prisoners during
this period.
Cause of death
From 2001 to 2018, 87% of state prison deaths and 90%
of federal prison deaths were due to illness. Suicide
accounted for 6% of state prison deaths and almost 5%
of federal prison deaths over the same period. The 311
suicides of state prisoners in 2018 represented a 20%
increase from 2017 (259 suicides) and an 85% increase
from 2001 (168 suicides).
Homicide was the cause of 2% of state and nearly 3%
of federal prison deaths. There were 120 homicides
of state prisoners during 2018, including homicides
committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use
of force by staff, and resulting from injuries sustained
prior to incarceration (figure 3). This marked a 6%
increase from the 113 homicides in 2017.

FIGURE 2
Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners,
2001–2018

Mortality rate
350
300 Statea
250
200
b
150 Federal
100
50
0
2001

2010

2015

2018

Note: Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a
1-day custody population on December 31. See tables 4 and 6 for rates.
aIncludes deaths in private state facilities.
bExcludes deaths in private federal facilities.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions,
2001–2018, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2018; and Federal
Bureau of Prisons, 2001–2018.

FIGURE 3
Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death,
2010 and 2018
Number of deaths
3,500
3,000

----■

2,500

----- ■ 2018

Prisoners deaths compared to U.S. population

2,000

State prisoners were less likely to die in 2018 (319 per
100,000 state prisoners) than were adult U.S. residents
(those age 18 or older) (419 per 100,000 adult U.S.
residents) when the resident population was adjusted
to the age, sex, and race or ethnicity distribution of state
prisoners.2 State prisoners had slightly higher mortality
rates than the adjusted adult U.S. resident population
in 2018 for cancer, liver disease, and suicide. The rate of
death by homicide among state prisoners (10 per 100,000
state prisoners) was more than twice the rate among
adult U.S. residents (4 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents)
(figure 4).

1,500

2The state prison population differed significantly from the U.S.

2005

2010

1,000
500
0

Illness

Suicide

Drug/alcohol Accident
intoxication

Homicidea

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics.
See table 1 for data.
aIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to
the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to
incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions,
2010 and 2018.

resident population in terms of sex, age, and race or ethnicity.
To make direct comparisons between the two populations, BJS
adjusted the U.S. resident population to resemble the age, sex, and
race or ethnicity distribution of state prisoners before calculating
overall and cause-specific mortality rates. See Methodology.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

2

■

Data sources
Findings in this report are from the Mortality in
Correctional Institutions (MCI) data collection
(formerly the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program),
developed by BJS. The MCI is the only national
statistical collection that obtains comprehensive
information about deaths among prisoners and jail
inmates in the custody of adult correctional facilities.
This report reviews deaths in state and federal prisons
from 2001 to 2018. Until 2015, BJS received aggregated
mortality data from the BOP. In 2015, BJS began
receiving individual-level data on deaths from the
BOP. Data on mortality in local jails can be found in
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2018 – Statistical Tables
(NCJ 256002, BJS, April 2021).

Other key findings
ƒƒIn 2018, a total of 22 state prisoners died from
AIDS-related illnesses, a 92% decrease from 2001
(275 deaths) (table 1) (figure 5).
ƒƒFrom 2001 to 2018, a total of 1,258 state prisoners, or
2% of all deaths in state prisons, were due to homicide
(table 2).
ƒƒFederal prisoners had a lower rate of suicide from 2001
to 2018 (11 suicides per 100,000 federal prisoners) than
did state prisoners (17 per 100,000 state prisoners).
ƒƒCancer and heart disease accounted for 53% of all state
prison deaths from 2001 to 2018.
ƒƒUnnatural causes, including suicide, homicide, drug or
alcohol intoxication, and accidents, accounted for 17%
of deaths in state prisons in 2018 (table 3).
ƒƒThe mortality rate for state prisoners due to cancer in
2018 (95 deaths per 100,000 state prisoners) was the
highest since 2001 (table 4).
ƒƒState prisoners died from homicide in 2018 at a rate (10
per 100,000) 2.5 times that of the adult U.S. resident
population (4 per 100,000) adjusted for sex, age, and
race or ethnicity (table 5).
ƒƒIn 2018, federal prisoners had a suicide rate of 19 per
100,000 federal prisoners, up from 16 per 100,000 in
2017 (table 6).
ƒƒIn state prisons, the number of deaths and mortality
rate of females increased by more than 37% between
2017 and 2018 (tables 7 and 9).
ƒƒPrisoners age 55 or older made up 34% of all state
prison deaths in 2001 but nearly double that (61%) in
2018 (table 8).

FIGURE 4
Adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 U.S. residents, by
cause of death, 2018
Mortality rate per 100,000
40
35

a

■ Adult U.S. residents

30

I---- ■ State prisoners

25
20
15
10
5
0

Suicide

Drug/alcohol
intoxication

Accidentb

Homicidec

Note: Excludes persons younger than age 18 and federal prisoners. See
table 5 for crude and adjusted rates.
aTo allow for direct comparisons of mortality rates, BJS adjusted the
U.S. resident population to resemble the sex, race or ethnicity, and age
distribution of the state prison population.
bExcludes causes of death that are unlikely to occur in prisons.
cIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use
of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions,
2018, National Prisoner Statistics, 2018, Survey of Inmates in State
Correctional Facilities, 2004, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health
Statistics, CDC WONDER online database, Underlying Cause of Death
2018 (released in 2020).

FIGURE 5
Percent of state prisoner deaths due to illness, by type
of illness, 2001, 2010, and 2018
Percent of deaths
30

■ 2001

25

2010
■ 2018

---- ■

20
15
10
5
0

Cancer

Heart
disease

Liver Respiratory AIDS- All other
disease disease relateda illnessesb

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics.
Includes deaths in private state facilities. See table 3 for data.
aIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive
or having AIDS at the time of death.
bIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease,
influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and
unspecified illnesses.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions,
2001, 2010, and 2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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ƒƒAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives accounted for 646
(1%) of all deaths in state prisons from 2001 to 2018
(table 10).
ƒƒIn state prisons from 2001 to 2018, white prisoners had
the highest average annual mortality rate for all causes
of death other than AIDS (table 11).
ƒƒIn 2018, more than one-third of deaths in state prisons
(33.7%) occurred in the states with the largest prison
systems: Texas (505 deaths), California (449), and
Florida (440) (table 12).

ƒƒTen states had fewer than 10 prisoner deaths in 2018,
including North Dakota, which had none.
ƒƒThe average annual mortality rate due to suicide was
lowest in Alabama and Kentucky (9 deaths per 100,000
state residents), followed by Florida and North Carolina
(10 per 100,000) (table 15).
ƒƒState prisons had a preliminary count of 3,293
deaths in 2019, based on data from 49 of the 50 state
departments of corrections (table 16).

List of tables
Table 1. Number of state and federal prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 2. State and federal prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2018
Table 3. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 4. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 5. Crude and adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 U.S. residents, by cause of death, 2018
Table 6. Mortality rate per 100,000 federal prisoners, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 7. Number of state prisoner deaths, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 8. Percent of state prisoner deaths, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 9. Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 10. Number of deaths in state prisons, by cause of death and decedent characteristics,
2001–2018
Table 11. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group,
by cause of death and decedent characteristics, 2001–2018
Table 12. Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by jurisdiction, 2001 and
2008–2018
Table 13. Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by jurisdiction, 2001 and 2008–2018
Table 14. Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by cause of death and jurisdiction,
2001–2018
Table 15. Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by cause of death
and jurisdiction, 2001–2018
Table 16. Preliminary number and percent of deaths in state prisons, by selected causes of
death, 2019
Continued on next page

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

4

■

List of figures
Figure 1. Number of state and federal prisoner deaths, 2001–2018
Figure 2. Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, 2001–2018
Figure 3. Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2010 and 2018
Figure 4. Adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 U.S. residents, by cause of death, 2018
Figure 5. Percent of state prisoner deaths due to illness, by type of illness, 2001, 2010, and 2018

List of appendix tables
Appendix table 1. Estimated number of state and federal prisoners in custody, by prisoner
characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Appendix table 2. Deaths of federal prisoners in federally and privately operated prison facilities,
by cause of death, 2015–2018
Appendix table 3. Illness mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic
group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 4. Cancer mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic
group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 5. Heart disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each
demographic group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 6. Liver disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each
demographic group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 7. Respiratory disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each
demographic group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 8. Mortality rate due to all other illnesses per 100,000 state prisoners within each
demographic group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Appendix table 9. Rate of unnatural deaths per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic
group, by decedent characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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TAblE 1
Number of state and federal prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Cause of death
Total
Federala
Stateb
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-relatedc
Respiratory
disease
All other
illnessesd
Suicide
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
Accident
Homicidee
Other causes
Missing/unknown

2001
3,170
301
2,869
2,567
743
691
310
275

2008
3,851
399
3,452
3,036
845
907
319
99

2009
3,793
376
3,417
3,027
850
978
337
98

2010
3,620
387
3,233
2,865
830
927
288
73

2011
3,738
387
3,351
2,979
854
1,028
340
57

2012
3,707
350
3,357
2,959
804
1,024
307
74

2013
3,878
400
3,478
3,081
897
1,065
357
52

2014
3,928
444
3,484
3,032
896
1,050
318
64

2015
4,137
455
3,682
3,226
986
1,122
302
45

2016
4,117
388
3,729
3,197
1,028
1,130
263
31

2017
4,324
381
3,943
3,258
1,095
1,110
246
37

2018
4,513
378
4,135
3,272
1,052
1,137
215
22

144

250

195

212

204

220

196

233

241

220

252

287

404
168

616
197

569
202

535
215

496
185

530
205

514
192

471
249

530
219

525
255

518
259

559
311

35
22
39
0
38

58
26
40
95
0

51
32
54
17
34

41
32
70
7
3

58
38
70
12
9

33
50
85
14
11

56
34
90
18
7

50
39
83
10
21

81
39
84
20
13

104
41
96
23
13

203
45
113
27
38

249
43
120
37
103

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected
Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology.
aExcludes deaths in private federal facilities. Until 2015, federal deaths were submitted as an aggregate count by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP),
with limited details regarding cause of death, and excluded deaths in private federal facilities. See appendix table 2 for deaths from 2015 to 2018 in
federal prison facilities operated by the BOP or operated privately under a BOP contract.
bIncludes deaths in private state facilities.
cIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
dIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
eIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

6

■

TAblE 2
State and federal prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2018
State prisonersa
Cause of death
Number of deaths Percent of deaths
All causes
61,130
100%
Illness
53,355
87.3%
Heart disease
15,855
25.9
Cancer
16,777
27.4
Liver disease
5,432
8.9
AIDS-relatedc
1,932
3.2
Respiratory
disease
3,824
6.3
9,535
15.6
All other illnessesd
Suicide
3,870
6.3%
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
1,235
2.0%
Accidente
618
1.0%
Homicidef
1,258
2.1%
Other causes
415
0.7%
Missing/unknown
379
0.6%

Mortality rate
per 100,000
269
235
70
74
24
9

Federal prisonersb
Number of deaths Percent of deaths
6,744
100%
6,051
89.7%
...
...
...
...
...
...
167
2.5

Mortality rate
per 100,000
232
208
...
...
...
6

17
42
17

...
...
313

...
...
4.6%

...
...
11

5
3
6
2
2

...
102
182
0
96

...
1.5%
2.7%
0.0%
1.4%

...
4
6
0
3

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Mortality rates are based on the annual
number of deaths and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
...Not available.
aIncludes deaths in private state facilities.
bData on cause of death for federal prisoners were not available for all causes. Excludes deaths in private federal facilities.
cIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
dIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
eIncludes death by intoxication among federal prisoners.
fIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

7

■

TAblE 3
Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-relateda
Respiratory
disease
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
Accident
Homicidec
Other causes
Missing/unknown

2001
100%
89.5%
25.9
24.1
10.8
9.6

2008
100%
87.9%
24.5
26.3
9.2
2.9

2009
100%
88.6%
24.9
28.6
9.9
2.9

2010
100%
88.6%
25.7
28.7
8.9
2.3

2011
100%
88.9%
25.5
30.7
10.1
1.7

2012
100%
88.1%
23.9
30.5
9.1
2.2

2013
100%
88.6%
25.8
30.6
10.3
1.5

2014
100%
87.0%
25.7
30.1
9.1
1.8

2015
100%
87.6%
26.8
30.5
8.2
1.2

2016
100%
85.7%
27.6
30.3
7.1
0.8

2017
100%
82.6%
27.8
28.2
6.2
0.9

2018
100%
79.1%
25.4
27.5
5.2
0.5

5.0
14.1
5.9%

7.2
17.8
5.7%

5.7
16.7
5.9%

6.6
16.5
6.7%

6.1
14.8
5.5%

6.6
15.8
6.1%

5.6
14.8
5.5%

6.7
13.5
7.1%

6.5
14.4
5.9%

5.9
14.1
6.8%

6.4
13.1
6.6%

6.9
13.5
7.5%

1.2%
0.8%
1.4%
0.0%
1.3%

1.7%
0.8%
1.2%
2.8%
0.0%

1.5%
0.9%
1.6%
0.5%
1.0%

1.3%
1.0%
2.2%
0.2%
0.1%

1.7%
1.1%
2.1%
0.4%
0.3%

1.0%
1.5%
2.5%
0.4%
0.3%

1.6%
1.0%
2.6%
0.5%
0.2%

1.4%
1.1%
2.4%
0.3%
0.6%

2.2%
1.1%
2.3%
0.5%
0.4%

2.8%
1.1%
2.6%
0.6%
0.3%

5.1%
1.1%
2.9%
0.7%
1.0%

6.0%
1.0%
2.9%
0.9%
2.5%

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Includes deaths in private state facilities.
aIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
bIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
cIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018.

TAblE 4
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-relateda
Respiratory
disease
All other illnessesb
Suicide
Drug/alcohol
intoxication
Accident
Homicidec
Other causes
Missing/unknown

2001
242
217
63
58
26
23

2008
261
229
64
68
24
7

2009
259
229
64
74
26
7

2010
246
218
63
71
22
6

2011
260
231
66
80
26
4

2012
265
234
63
81
24
6

2013
274
243
71
84
28
4

2014
274
239
71
83
25
5

2015
296
259
79
90
24
4

2016
303
260
84
92
21
3

2017
323
267
90
91
20
3

2018
344
273
88
95
18
2

12
34
14

19
47
15

15
43
15

16
41
16

16
38
14

17
42
16

15
40
15

18
37
20

19
43
18

18
43
21

21
42
21

24
47
26

3
2
3
0
3

4
2
3
7
0

4
2
4
1
3

3
2
5
1!
0!

4
3
5
1
1!

3
4
7
1
1

4
3
7
1
1!

4
3
7
1
2

7
3
7
2
1

8
3
8
2
1

17
4
9
2
3

21
4
10
3
9

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected
Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of
deaths and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
bIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
cIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018; and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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TAblE 5
Crude and adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 U.S. residents, by cause of death, 2018
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
Heart disease
Cancer
Liver disease
AIDS-relatedc
Respiratory disease
All other illnessesd
Suicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accidente
Homicidef

Crude rate per
100,000 adult
U.S. residents
1,110
1,040
265
242
23
2
114
395
19
27
22
2

Adjusted rate per
100,000 adult
U.S. residentsa
419
344
96
81
15
5
27
121
22
39
11
4

Prison annual
mortality rate per
100,000 state prisonersb
319
261
84
91
17
2
23
45
25
20
3
10

Note: Includes deaths in private state facilities. Excludes persons younger than age 18 and federal prisoners.
aPopulation adjusted to resemble the sex, race or ethnicity, and age distribution of the state prison population.
bMortality rates may differ from those presented elsewhere in this report due to the removal of state prisoners
younger than age 18 from both the numerator (deaths) and denominator (state prison population) and the
exclusion of deaths for which cause of death was unknown or missing. These changes were made solely to table 5
to make the mortality rates comparable to those in the U.S. resident population.
cIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
dIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural
causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
eExcludes causes of death that are unlikely to occur in prisons, such as motor vehicle accidents, neglect and
abandonment, and injury by firearms or explosives unrelated to law enforcement incidents.
fIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from
injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2018, National Prisoner Statistics, 2018,
Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 2004, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER online database, Underlying
Cause of Death 2018 (released in 2020).

TAblE 6
Mortality rate per 100,000 federal prisoners, by cause of death, 2001 and 2008–2018
Cause of death
All causes
Illness
AIDS-relateda
Suicide
Accidentb
Homicidec
Other/unknown

2001
220
196
16
13
4!
6!
0

2008
241
217
8
13
4!
8
1!

2009
220
198
4!
12
3!
4!
4!

2010
224
203
4!
6
1!
10
3!

2011
220
204
2!
10
1!
5!
1!

2012
198
182
3!
11
2!
3!
1!

2013
230
213
2!
8
2!
7
1!

2014
262
238
0
14
1!
8
0

2015
283
249
1!
12
10
10
2!

2016
252
220
1!
12
9
9
2!

2017
246
208
4!
16
5!
6
11

2018
250
190
0
19
9
8
24

Note: Excludes deaths in private federal facilities. Until 2015, federal deaths were submitted as an aggregate count by the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP), with limited details regarding cause of death, and excluded deaths in private federal facilities. See appendix table 2 for deaths from 2015 to
2018 in federal prison facilities operated by the BOP or operated privately under a BOP contract. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital
Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a
1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
bIncludes deaths due to drug or alcohol intoxication.
cIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2001 and 2008–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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TAblE 7
Number of state prisoner deaths, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
American Indian/
Alaska Nativea
Asian/Native Hawaiian/
Other Pacific Islander/
two or more racesa
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
2,869

2008
3,452

2009
3,417

2010
3,233

2011
3,351

2012
3,357

2013
3,478

2014
3,484

2015
3,682

2016
3,729

2017
3,943

2018
4,135

2,769
100

3,289
163

3,267
150

3,116
117

3,208
143

3,244
113

3,337
141

3,330
154

3,533
149

3,586
143

3,811
131

3,954
180

1,340
1,161
322

1,822
1,157
400

1,774
1,199
372

1,680
1,121
359

1,912
1,037
329

1,789
1,113
379

1,901
1,104
402

1,921
1,108
368

2,040
1,189
367

2,063
1,201
382

2,156
1,268
437

2,198
1,352
503

25

36

31

36

36

40

37

43

52

51

47

48

16

37

27

25

25

30

33

44

33

29

27

30

2
86
256
656
893
972

3
67
222
468
1,063
1,629

0
69
210
467
1,039
1,631

3
69
217
382
956
1,606

2
50
200
397
930
1,771

0
69
190
360
876
1,862

0
69
221
334
861
1,993

2
56
221
335
821
2,049

0
68
226
342
795
2,250

1
72
246
379
721
2,298

1
60
308
405
697
2,472

0
66
328
421
776
2,543

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Includes deaths in private state facilities.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018.

TAblE 8
Percent of state prisoner deaths, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
American Indian/
Alaska Nativea
Asian/Native Hawaiian/
Other Pacific Islander/
two or more racesa
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
100%

2008
100%

2009
100%

2010
100%

2011
100%

2012
100%

2013
100%

2014
100%

2015
100%

2016
100%

2017
100%

2018
100%

96.5%
3.5

95.3%
4.7

95.6%
4.4

96.4%
3.6

95.7%
4.3

96.6%
3.4

96.0%
4.1

95.6%
4.4

96.0%
4.1

96.2%
3.8

96.7%
3.3

95.6%
4.4

46.7%
40.5
11.2

52.8%
33.5
11.6

51.9%
35.1
10.9

52.0%
34.7
11.1

57.1%
31.0
9.8

53.3%
33.2
11.3

54.7%
31.7
11.6

55.1%
31.8
10.6

55.4%
32.3
10.0

55.3%
32.2
10.2

54.7%
32.2
11.1

53.2%
32.7
12.2

0.9

1.0

0.9

1.1

1.1

1.2

1.1

1.2

1.4

1.4

1.2

1.2

0.6

1.1

0.8

0.8

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.3

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.7

<0.1%
3.0
8.9
22.9
31.1
33.9

<0.1%
1.9
6.4
13.6
30.8
47.2

0.0%
2.0
6.2
13.7
30.4
47.7

<0.1%
2.1
6.7
11.8
29.6
49.7

<0.1%
1.5
6.0
11.9
27.8
52.9

0.0%
2.1
5.7
10.7
26.1
55.5

0.0%
2.0
6.4
9.6
24.8
57.3

<0.1%
1.6
6.3
9.6
23.6
58.8

0.0%
1.9
6.1
9.3
21.6
61.1

<0.1%
1.9
6.6
10.2
19.3
61.6

<0.1%
1.5
7.8
10.3
17.7
62.7

0.0%
1.6
7.9
10.2
18.8
61.5

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing data. Excludes
executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Includes deaths in
private state facilities.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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TAblE 9
Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by decedent characteristics, 2001 and 2008–2018
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2001
242

2008
261

2009
259

2010
246

2011
260

2012
265

2013
274

2014
274

2015
296

2016
303

2017
323

2018
344

250
131

267
173

266
163

255
128

267
160

275
131

282
159

282
171

306
167

315
161

337
148

356
203

345
234
139
59

413
230
147
67

412
243
134
49

396
233
129
47

461
222
121
45

439
245
145
49

468
246
153
45

473
254
141
53

515
282
142
50

535
293
144
48

561
316
164
44

580
344
191
47

68 !
39
64
181
584
2,032

115 !
34
51
131
442
1,859

0
35
48
136
427
1,737

140 !
35
50
114
389
1,580

111 !
26
47
123
384
1,632

0
38
46
113
368
1,615

0
40
53
104
364
1,619

206 !
35
53
104
349
1,563

0
47
55
106
347
1,618

120 !
53
61
117
321
1,579

126 !
48
78
124
317
1,624

0
58
85
128
363
1,606

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected
Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a 1-day
custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2001 and 2008–2018;
Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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TAblE 10
Number of deaths in state prisons, by cause of death and decedent characteristics, 2001–2018
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitee
Blacke
Hispanic
American Indian/
Alaska Nativee
Asian/Native Hawaiian/
Other Pacific Islander/
two or more racese
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

All causesa
61,130

Illness
Heart
Liver AIDS- Respiratory All other
disease Cancer disease relatedb disease
illnessesc
15,855 16,777 5,432 1,932
3,824
9,535

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accident Homicided
3,870
1,235
618
1,258

58,651
2,476

15,324 16,143 5,242
531
634 190

1,834
98

3,631
193

9,016
518

3,663
207

1,191
44

599
19

1,251
7

32,102
21,076
6,703

8,473 9,262 3,025
5,887 5,784 1,219
1,242 1,447 1,044

437
1,272
203

2,203
1,211
356

4,489
3,641
1,215

2,268
809
615

639
306
237

351
170
79

561
447
213

646

142

141

99

11

27

93

67

35

11

13

504

94

118

35

8

21

80

96

17

5

22

2
4
1
143
72
15
716
376
87
1,970 1,384 636
3,875 4,508 2,345
9,145 10,429 2,345

0
19
247
743
656
267

1
62
203
400
768
2,389

1
138
553
1,313
2,662
4,864

11
486
1,243
1,098
705
325

0
67
323
394
305
146

1
41
106
151
131
187

1
140
371
322
238
185

22
1,207
4,344
8,566
16,380
30,584

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology. Includes deaths in private state facilities.
There were 99 prisoners whose race or ethnicity was unknown, 27 whose age was unknown, and 3 whose sex was unknown.
aIncludes other causes not specified and missing and unknown causes.
bIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
cIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
dIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
eExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001–2018.

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TAblE 11
Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by cause of death and
decedent characteristics, 2001–2018
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitee
Blacke
Hispanic
Othere,f
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

All causesa
269

Illness
Heart
Liver
AIDS- Respiratory All other
disease Cancer disease relatedb disease
illnessesc
70
74
24
9
17
42

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accident Homicided
17
5
3
6

278
156

73
33

76
40

25
12

9
6

17
12

43
33

17
13

6
3

3
1

6
0

432
252
142
53

114
70
26
11

125
69
31
12

41
15
22
6

6
15
4
1

30
14
8
2

60
43
26
8

31
10
13
8

9
4
5
2

5
2
2
1

8
5
5
2

67 !
37
58
138
419
1,704

6!
4
10
32
99
509

12 !
2
5
22
115
581

3!
0
1
10
60
131

0!
1
3
12
17
15

3!
2
3
6
20
133

3!
4
7
21
68
271

33 !
15
17
18
18
18

0
2
4
6
8
8

3!
1
1
2
3
10

3!
4
5
5
6
10

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017:
Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and
a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aIncludes other causes not specified and missing and unknown causes.
bIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
cIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified illnesses.
dIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
eExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
fIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001–2018; National Inmate Survey, 2007–2009, 2011, and 2012; National
Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2016; Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

TAblE 12
Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by jurisdiction, 2001 and 2008–2018
Jurisdiction
Federala
Stateb
Alabama
Alaskac
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutd
Delawared
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiid
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana

2001
301
2,869
87
8
64
42
287
42
30
16
182
93
7
17
86
46

2008
399
3,452
75
14
77
41
371
38
32
15
291
128
14
18
71
70

2009
376
3,417
80
7
85
50
395
49
29
12
278
125
11
13
75
91

2010
387
3,233
66
13
85
54
414
48
21
23
275
112
12
13
94
69

2011
387
3,351
104
12
86
50
388
37
19
15
297
121
6
13
97
74

2012
350
3,357
86
11
87
43
368
48
24
10
324
103
12
9
85
59

2013
400
3,478
107
8
95
56
365
40
20
14
305
122
14
10
78
66

2014
444
3,484
102
12
99
57
317
35
24
18
346
121
8
23
88
70

2015
455
3,682
112
15
105
54
353
51
23
17
354
131
4
18
120
85

2016
388
3,729
118
10
126
71
334
57
17
14
356
133
9
16
90
70

2017
381
3,943
116
9
133
81
384
41
14
10
428
173
4
15
104
68

2018
378
4,135
125
11
131
76
449
55
28
16
440
163
6
22
83
67

Continued on next page
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

13

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TAblE 12 (continued)
Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by jurisdiction, 2001 and 2008–2018
Jurisdiction
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 Islandd
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontd
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2001
9
21
36
71
6
70
29
114
13
36
57
6
7
27
2
69
11
175
66
3
115
51
24
122
3
69
4
51
408
5
3
71
29
17
48
5

2008
21
24
68
117
2
69
29
99
17
54
87
9
6
35
5
66
29
133
117
0
101
88
31
145
6
83
6
74
469
11
3
86
35
19
44
9

2009
14
20
57
108
4
56
29
148
12
52
81
3
11
35
9
58
21
142
86
0
120
79
34
165
7
49
4
69
426
17
3
87
44
18
42
7

2010
13
22
42
100
3
40
39
93
16
52
88
2
12
41
4
56
16
124
87
1
116
60
39
141
7
70
8
74
375
13
5
93
35
20
25
2

2011
12
25
60
108
5
41
33
119
19
47
74
6
17
34
10
66
16
117
71
1
111
85
40
157
10
55
11
59
417
12
0
99
21
23
48
3

2012
20
17
55
116
2
46
42
124
14
41
71
11
11
37
5
48
14
115
79
3
126
79
26
157
6
58
9
84
462
15
2
86
33
24
46
4

2013
16
28
40
118
3
58
39
124
20
68
92
7
16
35
8
46
17
142
81
1
124
87
30
157
4
66
6
82
438
23
8
82
39
26
43
4

2014
15
21
44
118
7
43
45
121
14
50
97
19
13
44
5
50
24
123
94
0
111
107
31
145
7
66
7
83
409
23
6
90
38
24
58
12

2015
19
25
60
113
5
62
34
118
11
45
106
13
17
47
8
52
19
115
90
0
138
107
37
166
5
76
7
94
418
16
4
90
42
28
46
7

2016
29
35
42
123
5
49
34
106
18
65
99
16
9
42
9
49
16
147
127
4
133
93
47
171
2
79
5
102
403
21
7
90
28
26
66
11

2017
16
26
70
115
4
57
37
106
6
77
94
13
16
47
5
39
18
143
104
2
149
86
25
181
8
105
12
96
469
20
4
93
40
29
43
8

2018
19
33
50
114
8
57
42
135
6
76
106
5
10
29
8
33
22
138
118
0
151
113
34
166
5
100
6
121
505
17
2
106
36
34
52
6

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology.
aExcludes deaths in private federal facilities. Until 2015, federal deaths were submitted as an aggregate count by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP),
with limited details regarding cause of death, and excluded deaths in private federal facilities. See appendix table 2 for deaths from 2015 to 2018 in
federal prison facilities operated by the BOP or operated privately under a BOP contract.
bIncludes deaths in private state facilities. Includes nine 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 BOP.
cPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Counts include deaths only in state-operated prisons and jails and exclude deaths in 15 locally
operated jails.
dPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include the total jail and prison population.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

14

■

TAblE 13
Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by jurisdiction, 2001 and 2008–2018
Jurisdiction
Federala
Stateb
Alabama
Alaskac
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutd
Delawared
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiid
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisianae
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 Islandd
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontd
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia

2001
220
242
352
175 !
231
366
183
243
171
234
251
202
137 !
323
194
234
113 !
245
336
361
358 !
295
284
233
203
238
199
215 !
179 !
274
83 !
265
194
259
205
276 !
256
235
219
324
89 !
318
143 !
292
275
121 !
214 !
226
190
500

2008
241
261
296
280
195
312
217
164
161
216
291
243
257
256
156
265
241
281
446
561
98 !
298
260
203
188
302
289
309 !
134 !
272
175 !
266
459
221
293
0
198
372
229
298
160 !
350
179 !
382
295
214
142 !
264
204
388

2009
220
259
294
128 !
210
375
234
216
153
182
274
233
227
181
166
340
157
231
380
543
193 !
254
260
325
126
302
265
97 !
245
278
309 !
241
319
243
214
0
236
328
248
327
205 !
207
118 !
346
269
324
135 !
281
255
356

2010
224
246
241
242
212
380
254
211
113
361
269
212
227
180
194
253
137
243
290
526
154 !
175
349
211
170
316
288
64 !
260
336
153 !
229
240
220
215
71 !
224
248
281
293
222 !
304
236 !
369
234
239
241 !
291
206
394

2011
220
260
388
193
215
355
263
169
106
229
294
229
110 !
174
200
270
132
268
429
573
253 !
178
288
277
204
305
239
192 !
365
280
413
279
239
212
179
72 !
218
358
291
316
330
246
309
298
261
227
0
324
123
447

2012
198
265
321
174
217
306
277
236
140
149
325
187
227
117 !
172
210
229
179
423
624
101 !
211
377
284
149
260
228
355
233
294
195 !
208
211
213
211
212 !
248
324
184
313
197 !
265
250 !
424
298
283
98 !
289
195
450

2013
230
274
399
157 !
232
392
272
198
115
206
302
227
271
139
160
232
184
291
329
628
145 !
267
367
284
213
436
292
224 !
319
274
305 !
207
251
266
218
63 !
240
343
205
314
126 !
306
166 !
395
282
427
385 !
273
220
456

2014
262
274
390
190
235
374
236
171
143
267
343
230
148 !
307
182
215
170
220
363
631
318 !
202
431
279
146
383
304
609
249
347
184 !
234
345
235
252
0
215
404
214
295
223 !
315
200 !
399
265
433
303 !
300
221
409

2015
283
296
444
286
249
342
276
256
144
264
356
252
74 !
249
260
320
214
262
502
613
228 !
296
358
277
115
322
328
409
331
355
301 !
256
267
223
244
0
264
392
252
340
168 !
372
198 !
475
274
331
229 !
296
244
473

2016
252
303
497
228
298
448
258
293
113
221
363
249
174 !
222
206
278
320
363
354
817
212 !
242
376
258
189
474
305
500
174 !
301
346 !
252
229
290
353
244 !
255
353
322
354
69 !
388
133 !
474
266
466
403 !
301
163
441

2017
246
323
531
206 !
317
510
295
209
103
163
443
323
78 !
196
253
264
177
268
583
759
170 !
286
418
267
63 !
568
289
409
308
349
197 !
203
250
289
284
126 !
289
315
171
383
298 !
541
308
436
311
403
300 !
312
226
490

2018
250
344
588
260
312
488
352
275
212
287
460
306
120 !
273
208
252
201
332
381
766
336 !
297
497
348
64 !
572
349
130 !
187
217
312 !
173
332
295
336
0
299
415
231
358
194 !
539
156 !
619
337
327
117 !
358
207
583

Continued on next page

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

15

■

TAblE 13 (continued)
Mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by jurisdiction, 2001 and 2008–2018
Jurisdiction
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2001
231
336 !

2008
197
528 !

2009
189
402 !

2010
113
96 !

2011
214
139 !

2012
205
183 !

2013
192
175 !

2014
257
507

2015
201
292 !

2016
285
468

2017
183
331 !

2018
221
245 !

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Excludes executions. For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected
Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
Mortality rates are not adjusted for demographic differences among states. See Methodology.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes deaths in private federal facilities. Until 2015, federal deaths were submitted as an aggregate count by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP),
with limited details regarding cause of death, and excluded deaths in private federal facilities. See appendix table 2 for deaths from 2015 to 2018 in
federal prison facilities operated by the BOP or operated privately under a BOP contract.
bIncludes deaths in private state facilities. Includes nine 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 BOP.
cPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Counts include deaths only in state-operated prisons and jails and exclude deaths in 15 locally
operated jails.
dPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include the total jail and prison population.
eAnnually, Louisiana holds roughly half of its prison population in local jails. Since the calculation of mortality rates is based on the custody
populations, which exclude prisoners held in local jails, the mortality rates for Louisiana prisoners will be high because the prisoners held in jails are
generally healthier according to the Louisiana Department of Corrections.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001 and 2008–2018, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001 and 2008–2018;
and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001 and 2008–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

16

■

TAblE 14
Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by cause of death and jurisdiction, 2001–2018
Jurisdiction
All causesa
f
Federal
6,744
61,130
Stateg
Alabama
1,601
Alaskah
176
Arizona
1,607
Arkansas
900
California
6,628
Colorado
805
Connecticuti
472
Delawarei
274
Florida
5,260
Georgia
2,212
162
Hawaiii
Idaho
265
Illinois
1,590
Indiana
1,165
Iowa
290
Kansas
436
Kentucky
887
Louisiana
1,806
Maine
74
Maryland
1,039
Massachusetts
622
Michigan
2,180
Minnesota
235
Mississippi
1,001
Missouri
1,471
Montana
161
Nebraska
195
Nevada
623
New Hampshire
119
New Jersey
986
New Mexico
318
New York
2,599
North Carolina
1,605
North Dakota
20
Ohio
2,175
Oklahoma
1,475
Oregon
603
Pennsylvania
2,730
Rhode Islandi
112
South Carolina
1,246
South Dakota
128
Tennessee
1,451
Texas
7,602
Utah
245
69
Vermonti
Virginia
1,586
Washington
637

Illness
Heart
Liver
AIDS- Respiratory All other
disease Cancer disease relatedb disease
illnessesc
...
...
...
167
...
5,884
15,855 16,777 5,432 1,932
3,824
9,535
369
403
136
37
107
287
42
28
17
1
4
24
380
422
206
34
89
202
302
241
64
25
45
92
1,131 1,635
647
116
472
1,356
155
165
129
1
58
144
115
65
66
11
27
96
69
63
25
20
14
33
1,129 1,552
407
303
350
931
735
559
122
82
181
284
30
42
17
4
7
23
69
66
23
4
13
38
457
503
80
64
88
211
312
314
102
22
76
170
64
100
17
5
29
35
120
125
50
2
29
65
298
280
64
30
46
130
558
547
140
109
85
231
23
18
6
1
6
8
260
218
82
109
43
117
170
170
62
10
28
90
654
744
169
39
123
220
47
70
32
1
10
43
366
251
47
24
49
136
406
449
158
26
83
216
31
44
25
2
10
25
44
44
25
4
9
22
151
141
42
9
27
129
26
46
11
3
4
12
314
234
61
83
58
129
71
82
57
4
17
38
690
754
200
221
115
233
437
524
130
74
104
210
4
5
2
1
0
3
618
746
119
34
161
303
385
371
167
30
85
196
128
184
87
7
29
81
776
790
240
38
170
500
27
21
3
5
5
9
472
267
81
36
52
195
30
28
18
1
13
13
441
397
148
43
71
194
1,896 1,899
804
172
595
1,542
59
52
20
0
10
43
17
13
11
3
1
11
423
543
153
54
82
207
150
182
70
9
54
98

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accidentd Homicidee
313
...
102
182
3,870
1,235
618
1,258
40
13
17
46
34
10
9
4
116
75
15
54
52
42
14
15
558
336
49
282
73
35
15
29
75
3
6
7
32
6
1
2
170
160
63
135
122
8
18
75
28
4
1
5
35
5
5
4
132
14
15
17
78
40
17
28
31
3
1
2
27
6
8
3
22
3
4
6
40
3
20
9
4
2
0
5
79
62
9
46
58
10
9
4
131
35
25
22
26
4
1
1
47
4
14
28
70
21
8
24
18
3
1
2
18
5
3
6
39
6
4
11
12
5
0
0
52
21
10
12
29
7
1
11
229
56
34
29
64
8
24
16
4
1
0
0
126
20
8
31
87
39
32
60
36
13
7
10
150
21
14
18
26
5
3
1
69
11
7
53
17
1
4
3
67
30
13
33
492
27
76
72
39
5
3
8
10
3
0
0
60
19
10
14
43
9
11
8

Continued on next page

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

17

■

TAblE 14 (continued)
Number of prisoner deaths in state and federal facilities, by cause of death and jurisdiction, 2001–2018
Jurisdiction
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

All causesa
366
808
104

Illness
Heart
Liver
AIDS- Respiratory All other
disease Cancer disease relatedb disease
illnessesc
138
98
25
6
17
58
226
265
50
11
64
85
38
17
14
1
8
15

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accidentd Homicidee
10
3
2
6
85
9
6
1
8
2
1
0

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Excludes executions. For
execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). See Methodology.
...Not available.
aIncludes other causes not specified and missing and unknown causes.
bIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
cIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified
illnesses. Includes natural and illness-related deaths of federal prisoners for which the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) could not provide details.
dIncludes death by intoxication among federal prisoners.
eIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
fExcludes deaths in private federal facilities.
gIncludes deaths in private state facilities. Includes nine 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 BOP.
hPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Counts include deaths only in state-operated prisons and jails and exclude deaths in 15 locally
operated jails.
iPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include the total jail and prison population.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001–2018.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

18

■

TAblE 15
Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by cause of death and jurisdiction,
2001–2018
Jurisdiction
All causesa
f
Federal
232
269
Stateg
Alabama
352
Alaskah
194
Arizona
237
Arkansas
363
California
244
Colorado
217
Connecticuti
151
Delawarei
230
Florida
313
Georgia
237
169
Hawaiii
Idaho
215
Illinois
195
Indiana
255
Iowa
183
Kansas
264
Kentucky
373
Louisianaj
535
Maine
198
Maryland
260
Massachusetts
336
Michigan
265
Minnesota
148
Mississippi
359
Missouri
266
Montana
292
Nebraska
234
Nevada
282
New Hampshire
255
New Jersey
234
New Mexico
268
New York
250
North Carolina
242
North Dakota
79
Ohio
245
Oklahoma
336
Oregon
248
Pennsylvania
330
Rhode Islandi
192
South Carolina
315
South Dakota
209
Tennessee
408
Texas
272
Utah
273
Vermonti
205
Virginia
286
Washington
209
West Virginia
412

Illness
Heart
Liver
AIDSAll other
disease Cancer disease relatedb Respiratory illnessesc
...
...
...
6
...
202
70
74
24
9
17
42
81
89
30
8
24
63
46
31
19
1!
4!
26
56
62
30
5
13
30
122
97
26
10
18
37
42
60
24
4
17
50
42
44
35
0!
16
39
37
21
21
4
9
31
58
53
21
17
12
28
67
92
24
18
21
55
79
60
13
9
19
30
31
44
18
4!
7!
24
56
53
19
3!
11
31
56
62
10
8
11
26
68
69
22
5
17
37
40
63
11
3!
18
22
73
76
30
1!
18
39
125
118
27
13
19
55
165
162
41
32
25
68
62
48
16 !
3!
16 !
21 !
65
55
21
27
11
29
92
92
34
5
15
49
79
90
21
5
15
27
30
44
20
1!
6
27
131
90
17
9
18
49
73
81
29
5
15
39
56
80
45
4!
18
45
53
53
30
5!
11 !
26
68
64
19
4!
12
58
56
99
24
6!
9!
26
74
55
14
20
14
31
60
69
48
3!
14
32
66
72
19
21
11
22
66
79
20
11
16
32
16 !
20 !
8!
4!
0
12 !
70
84
13
4
18
34
88
85
38
7
19
45
53
76
36
3!
12
33
94
95
29
5
21
60
46
36
5!
9!
9!
15 !
119
68
21
9
13
49
49
46
29
2!
21
21
124
112
42
12
20
55
68
68
29
6
21
55
66
58
22
0
11
48
50
39
33
9!
3!
33
76
98
28
10
15
37
49
60
23
3!
18
32
156
110
28
7!
19
65

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accidentd Homicidee
11
...
4
6
17
5
3
6
9
3
4
10
37
11
10 !
4!
17
11
2
8
21
17
6
6
21
12
2
10
20
9
4
8
24
1!
2!
2!
27
5!
1!
2!
10
10
4
8
13
1!
2
8
29
4!
1!
5!
28
4!
4!
3!
16
2
2
2
17
9
4
6
20
2!
1!
1!
16
4!
5!
2!
9
1!
2!
3!
12
1!
6
3!
11 !
5!
0
13 !
20
16
2!
12
31
5
5!
2!
16
4
3
3
16
3!
1!
1!
17
1!
5
10
13
4
1!
4
33
5!
2!
4!
22
6
4!
7!
18
3!
2!
5
26
11 !
0
0
12
5
2
3
24
6!
1!
9
22
5
3
3
10
1!
4
2
16 !
4!
0
0
14
2
1!
3
20
9
7
14
15
5
3!
4
18
3
2
2
45
9!
5!
2!
17
3
2!
13
28
2!
7!
5!
19
8
4
9
18
1
3
3
44
6!
3!
9!
30
9!
0
0
11
3
2
3
14
3!
4
3!
11
3!
2!
7!

Continued on next page
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

19

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TAblE 15 (continued)
Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, by cause of death and jurisdiction,
2001–2018
Jurisdiction
Wisconsin
Wyoming

All causesa
200
283

Illness
Heart
Liver
AIDSRespiratory All other
disease Cancer disease relatedb disease
illnessesc
56
66
12
3
16
21
103
46
38
3!
22 !
41

Drug/alcohol
Suicide intoxication Accidentd Homicidee
21
2!
1!
0!
22 !
5!
3!
0

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing data. Excludes executions.
For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019). Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality
rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a 1-day custody population on December 31. Mortality rates are not adjusted for demographic
differences among states. See Methodology.
...Not available.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aIncludes other causes not specified and missing and unknown causes.
bIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive or having AIDS at the time of death.
cIncludes other specified illnesses (such as cerebrovascular disease, influenza, and other nonleading natural causes of death) and unspecified
illnesses. Includes natural and illness-related deaths of federal prisoners for which the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) could not provide details.
dIncludes death by intoxication among federal prisoners.
eIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior to incarceration.
fExcludes deaths in private federal facilities.
gIncludes deaths in private state facilities. Includes nine 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 BOP.
hPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Counts include deaths only in state-operated prisons and jails and exclude deaths in 15 locally
operated jails.
iPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include the total jail and prison population.
jAnnually, Louisiana holds roughly half of its prison population in local jails. Since the calculation of mortality rates is based on the custody
populations, which exclude prisoners held in local jails, the mortality rates for Louisiana prisoners will be high because the prisoners held in jails are
generally healthier according to the Louisiana Department of Corrections.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001–2018, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2018; and Federal Bureau
of Prisons, 2001–2018.

TAblE 16
Preliminary number and percent of deaths in state
prisons, by selected causes of death, 2019
Cause of death
All causes
Illnessb
AIDS-relatedc
Suicide
Drug/alcohol intoxication
Accident
Homicided
Other causes
Missing/unknown

Number
3,293
2,429
13
271
204
24
106
46
200

Percenta
100%
73.8
0.4
8.2
6.2
0.7
3.2
1.4
6.1

Note: Represents a 98% response rate. As of July 13, 2020, a total of 49
of the 50 state departments of corrections had reported at least one
death to the Mortality in Correctional Institutions. Excludes executions.
For execution data, see Capital Punishment, 2019: Selected Findings
(BJS, Forthcoming).
aBased on the total number of records reported.
bExcludes AIDS-related deaths.
cIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive
or having AIDS at the time of death.
dIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to
the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior
to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional
Institutions, 2019.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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Methodology
Data collection coverage
The Mortality in Correctional Institutions (MCI),
formerly the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program
(DCRP), is an annual Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
data collection. The MCI obtains national-, state-,
and incident-level data on persons who died while in
the physical custody of the 50 state departments of
corrections (DOCs) or of the approximately 2,800 local
jail jurisdictions with adult populations nationwide.
This methodology pertains to the prison portion of
the MCI collection only. See Mortality in Local Jails,
2000-2018 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 256002, BJS, April
2021) for the methodology for deaths in local jails.
The DCRP began in 2000 in response to the Death in
Custody Reporting Act of 2000 (DICRA; P.L. 106-297)
and was the only national statistical collection
providing comprehensive information about deaths
in adult correctional facilities. Starting in 2001, BJS
has annually collected data directly from state prison
systems, maintaining a 100% response rate. BJS uses
these data to track national trends in the number,
cause, and manner of deaths occurring in state
prisons. Until 2015, the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) submitted aggregate counts of the number of
male and female deaths to BJS, by cause of death. The
BOP started reporting decedent-level data to BJS in
2015, including individual demographic and criminal
justice characteristics. In 2017, BJS changed the name
of the DCRP to MCI to more accurately describe the
data collection.
BJS will cease collection of mortality data in state and
local correctional facilities after the 2019 reference
year. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) determined
that it would be more appropriate for the Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA) to administer the program and
collect mortality data for DOJ starting with quarter 1 of
fiscal year (FY) 2019 (October to December 2019).
State DOCs and local jails will be asked to report their
death information on a quarterly basis to centralized
state agencies, which will compile and submit the
information to BJA to comply with all applicable
requirements in P.L. 113-242.
Mortality data collected by the MCI include the
location and type of facility where the prisoner
died, decedent characteristics (sex, race or ethnicity,
and age), admission date, conviction status, and
admission offense. The MCI also collects data on

the circumstances surrounding the death (the cause,
time, and location of death), whether an autopsy was
conducted, and the availability of autopsy results to the
respondent. Data on executions are excluded from this
report but are accessible on the BJS website.3 Statistics
for 2001 to 2018 presented in this report are current as
of September 14, 2020.
For more information on mortality in correctional
settings, see—
ƒƒ
Assessing Inmate Cause of Death: Deaths in Custody
Reporting Program and National Death Index (NCJ
249568, BJS, April 2016)
ƒƒ
Federal Deaths in Custody and During Arrest,
2016-2017 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 252838, BJS,
December 2020)
ƒƒ
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2018 – Statistical Tables
(NCJ 256002, BJS April 2021)
ƒƒ
Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2016 – Statistical Tables
(NCJ 251921, BJS, February 2020)
ƒƒ
Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2016 –
Statistical Tables (NCJ 251920, BJS, February 2020)
ƒƒ
Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails
(NCJ 210036, BJS, August 2005).
The MCI instruments for collecting data from state
prisons are administered annually to state DOCs.
Respondents provide an aggregate count of the
number of deaths (NPS-4) that occurred during
the referenced calendar year and provide forms
(NPS-4A) describing individual deaths. The prison
data collection instruments are available on the BJS
website. Respondents can submit individual records on
decedents at any time during a collection cycle through
a BJS web-based collection system. The BOP submits
federal prison data directly to BJS.
Determining eligibility for reporting to the
Mortality in Correctional Institutions
In the MCI, custody refers to the physical holding of
a person in a facility or to the period during which a
correctional authority maintains a chain of custody
over a prisoner. For instance, if a prison transports
an ill prisoner to a hospital for medical services and
that prisoner dies while in the chain of custody of
the prison, then that death is counted as a death
3See Capital Punishment, 2018 – Statistical Tables (NCJ 254786,

BJS, September 2020).

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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in custody. A death that occurs when a prisoner
is not in the custody of a correctional authority is
considered beyond the scope of the MCI. Deaths
were considered out of scope for prisoners who died
while on escape status or under the supervision of
community corrections, such as on probation, parole,
or home electronic monitoring. For state prisons
responding to the survey, prisoners in physical custody
include those held in any private prison facility under
contract to the responding states’ DOCs or in any of
their state-operated facilities, such as halfway houses,
prison camps or farms, training or treatment centers,
and prison hospitals. BOP data submitted to the MCI
exclude deaths of federal prisoners that occurred in
privately operated facilities.

that describe illness-related deaths into standard
medical codes from the World Health Organization’s
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and
Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).

State and federal prison officials were asked to exclude
deaths of prisoners serving sentences in the custody
of local jails while under the jurisdiction of the state
or federal DOCs. The MCI obtains information about
such deaths through the jail data collections.

Other BJS sources of correctional mortality data

Identifying and excluding duplicate records
Duplicate and out-of-scope records are excluded from
analysis in this report. Duplicate death records may
occur in the MCI due to overlapping correctional
populations or overlapping duties within correctional
facilities. For example, a state prison system may report
the death of a prisoner who was transferred to a local
jail while serving a prison sentence. This death would
be counted by the local jail that had custody of the
prisoner at the time of death. The duplicate record
from the prison would be deleted.
To identify duplicate records, BJS reconciles the
aggregate summary counts of deaths that occurred
during a calendar year with the number of individual
records of death that were obtained from a reporting
prison system. When discrepancies are identified,
reporting prison systems are contacted for clarification.
Information on cause of death
MCI respondents are instructed to report on the
cause of death as determined by autopsy or another
official medical investigation. For this collection,
deaths due to intoxication, accidents, suicides, and
homicides are considered discrete causes of death.
Although the manner and cause of death are distinct
from one another, no such distinction is made in the
MCI. When reporting a death due to illness, accident,
suicide, intoxication, or homicide, BJS requests that
respondents describe the events surrounding these
deaths. Clinical data specialists convert text entries

Homicides include all types of intentional homicide
and involuntary manslaughter as determined by a
medical examiner or pathologist at autopsy. Homicide
counts include legal intervention homicides committed
while the prisoner was trying to escape. Homicides also
encompass cases that are ruled a homicide at autopsy
when events that led to the death occurred prior to
incarceration, such as a prisoner who was shot outside
of custody and who later died from complications of
the gunshot wound while in custody.

BJS maintains other data collections on prisoner
mortality. These other collections include—
ƒƒ
Capital Punishment, which provides data on legal
executions. Additional details on executions are
available on the BJS website.
ƒƒ
The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program,
which collects counts of deaths by cause of death,
including deaths due to execution; illness; AIDS and
AIDS-related causes, such as HIV; suicide; accident;
or homicide. Detailed counts by cause of death were
discontinued in 2007. The NPS currently collects a
total count of deaths as a type of release from prison.
After 2006, the BOP submitted counts of deaths
by cause of death to the MCI but discontinued
submitting counts to the NPS. Additional details on
the NPS are available on the BJS website.
Reported statistics
Mortality data in this report include the number
of deaths and mortality rates by year in state and
federal prisons, the cause of death, selected decedent
characteristics, and the state where the death occurred.
Mortality rates are calculated per 100,000 prisoners,
with the denominators providing estimates of the
number of person-years of exposure in custody in
institutional corrections (person-years combines time
in jail with the number of inmates to measure actual
exposure to a jail setting). The mortality rate for
state or federal prisoners is calculated as the number
of deaths per year divided by the December 31
population of state or federal prisoners in custody,
with the resulting quotient multiplied by 100,000. The
population of state prisoners used in rate calculations

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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includes prisoners held in privately operated
facilities, while the population in federal prisons
does not. To improve comparability between years,
this report includes mortality rates of state prisons
that were reestimated for prior years using updated
year-end custody populations, including privately
operated facilities.
Data on the source of the denominator allow annual
mortality rates to be calculated separately by group
or characteristic. The National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) calculates crude mortality rates as
the number of events for a period (such as 1 year),
divided by the population estimate at the midpoint of
the period. For statistics on mortality in the general
population, the NCHS uses the midyear population
as an approximation of the average population that is
exposed to risk of death during any given year.4
The crude mortality rates that are reported in the
MCI annual statistical tables use a year-end, rather
than midyear, population for the denominator. The
composition of the general population (sex, race or
ethnicity, and age) differs from the population in
state and federal prisons, which in turn differs from
the population in local jails. For 2018, BJS adjusted
the general population in table 5 of this report to
reflect the age, sex, and race or ethnicity distribution
of state prisons to permit direct comparisons. For
details on this adjustment, see Comparison of state
prison mortality rates to the U.S. resident population in
this Methodology.
Estimating population characteristics of prisoners
to calculate mortality rates by demographic
subgroups
Age and sex distributions of the state prison population
are estimated using the NPS and National Corrections
Reporting Program (NCRP) data collections. Rates
for race or ethnicity are also derived from these
collections. They have been updated from previous
years and will not match previously reported rates.
Race or ethnicity reported in the NPS and NCRP come
from administrative records of prisoners and may
not reflect self-reporting by prisoners. In this report,
distributions of race or ethnicity were adjusted based
on self-reported data collected from interviews with
prisoners through BJS’s national prisoner surveys.
Previously, distributions of race or ethnicity were
derived from BJS’s 2004 Survey of Inmates in State
and Federal Correctional Facilities. In 2017, BJS
4See Siegel, J. S., & Swanson, D. A. (Eds.). (2004). The methods and

materials of demography (2nd ed., p. 269). Elsevier Academic Press.

updated estimates of prisoners’ race or ethnicity using
new data from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates
(formerly the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal
Correctional Facilities). Annual distributions of race or
ethnicity were weighted by the number of years from
the most recent prisoner survey (2004 or 2016). For
complete details on the methodology used to estimate
distributions of race or ethnicity, see Prisoners in 2016
(NCJ 251149, BJS, January 2018).
Comparison of state prison mortality rates to the
U.S. resident population
The state prison population differs substantially from
the U.S. resident population in terms of age, race or
ethnicity, and sex distributions. These differences
preclude direct comparisons of mortality rates between
state prisoners and the U.S. resident population. To
control for these differences and allow for direct
comparisons, BJS standardized the U.S. resident
population’s mortality rates to the age-sex-race/
ethnicity (ASR) distribution of state prisoners in 2018.
Data for the U.S. resident population were obtained
from the WONDER (Wide-ranging Online Data
for Epidemiological Research) Underlying Cause of
Death database (https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.
html), created by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Since the state prison population
holds fewer than 800 persons age 17 or younger, BJS
limited the WONDER death data to those residents
who had a known age at death and were age 18 or
older in 2018. In addition, BJS excluded causes of
death that are unlikely to occur in prisons, such as
motor vehicle accidents, neglect and abandonment,
and injury by firearms or explosives unrelated to law
enforcement incidents.
For each cause of death, BJS parsed the WONDER
death data to match ASR categories from the MCI
and calculated the crude mortality rates for the adult
U.S. resident population for each ASR category. Next,
the total state prison population was divided into the
same ASR categories based on data from the NPS
and NCRP, then weighted to the race or ethnicity
distribution from BJS’s self-reported prisoner surveys
as described above. The crude mortality rates for the
adult U.S. resident population were then multiplied
by the total state prison population by weighted ASR
category. This approach allowed BJS to generate a
cause-specific expected count of deaths that, when
summed, gave the total number of expected deaths in
the U.S. resident population due to that cause for 2018,
if the demographic distribution of the U.S. population

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

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■

resembled that of the state prison population. To
obtain the adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 shown in
table 5, BJS divided these cause-specific mortality rates
by the total state prison population and multiplied
by 100,000.
Rolling averages
Rolling averages were computed to examine trends
for certain causes of death in prisons while smoothing
short-term fluctuations. Data were divided into
10 overlapping 3-year periods spanning 12 years. The
rolling averages in this report describe some changes
in cause-specific mortality rates over time, such as
whether the overall rise in the mortality rate for cancer
was steady or the increase in unnatural deaths was
recent. Rolling averages were not computed for all
causes of death in custody due to small cell sizes.
Interpreting rates among small populations
MCI data on deaths in state prisons are not subject
to sampling error because the data represent a full
enumeration of deaths. However, according to
Brillinger and NCHS, mortality data from a complete
enumeration may be subject to random error because
“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.”5,6 The random variation can be large
when the number of deaths is small. Therefore, caution
is warranted when interpreting statistics that are based
on small numbers of deaths.
Continuing to use the NCHS and Brillinger methods,
BJS quantified random variation by assuming that
the appropriate underlying probability distribution
for the number of deaths was a Poisson distribution.
This provided a simple and reasonable approach for
estimating variances in mortality statistics when the
probability of dying is low. Variances were calculated
based on the assumption of a Poisson process. From
these variances, estimates of relative random error
were calculated. These estimates are comparable
to the relative standard error because the relative
random error is the ratio of random error derived
from the Poisson variance to the number of deaths.
Following NCHS practice, when the relative random
error exceeded 30%, estimated mortality rates were
flagged with an “!” symbol to show the instability of
the rate. (Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on
10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater
than 50%.)
5See Brillinger, D. R. (1986). The natural variability of vital rates

and associated statistics. Biometrics, 42(4), 693-734.

6See Xu, J., Kochanek, K. D., Murphy, S. L., & Tejada-Vera, B.

(2010). Deaths: Final data for 2007 (National Vital Statistics
Reports, Vol. 58, No. 19). National Center for Health Statistics.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf

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APPEndIx TAblE 1
Estimated number of state and federal prisoners in custody, by prisoner characteristics, 2001–2018
Custody
population,
Characteristic 2001–2018 2001
2008
2009
2010
Total
25,595,000 1,322,600 1,489,800 1,490,600 1,487,500
Federala
2,906,100 137,100 165,300 171,000 173,100
22,688,900 1,185,500 1,324,500 1,319,600 1,314,400
Stateb
Sex
Male
21,102,600 1,109,400 1,230,600 1,227,500 1,222,900
Female
1,586,300 76,100 93,900 92,100 91,500
Race/
ethnicity
Whitec
7,433,600 387,900 441,100 430,400 424,700
8,379,200 495,400 502,800 493,200 481,800
Blackc
Hispanic 4,709,300 232,200 272,400 277,400 278,600
Otherc,d 2,166,800 70,000 108,300 118,600 129,300
Age
17 or
younger
33,000
2,900
2,600
2,500
2,100
18–24
3,268,600 218,000 197,900 198,700 196,000
25–34
7,494,300 401,700 439,200 437,300 434,800
35–44
6,189,100 362,000 356,600 343,700 334,200
45–54
3,908,900 153,000 240,600 243,500 245,600
55 or older 1,795,000 47,800 87,600 93,900 101,700

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
1,466,400 1,443,500 1,444,100 1,439,200 1,405,800 1,382,900 1,374,000 1,351,900
176,200 176,500 173,800 169,500 160,700 154,200 154,600 151,500
1,290,200 1,267,000 1,270,300 1,269,700 1,245,100 1,228,700 1,219,400 1,200,400
1,201,100 1,180,600 1,181,500 1,179,400 1,156,000 1,139,900 1,130,800 1,111,900
89,100 86,400 88,800 90,300 89,100 88,800 88,700 88,500
414,600
467,900
270,900
136,800

407,800
454,600
260,900
143,700

406,100
448,200
262,100
153,900

406,300
437,000
261,800
164,700

396,100
421,000
258,300
169,600

385,400
409,600
266,100
167,600

384,000
401,800
266,600
167,000

379,000
393,200
263,300
164,900

1,800
189,100
424,400
324,100
242,300
108,500

1,400
180,400
413,800
318,200
238,000
115,300

1,100
173,700
415,300
320,500
236,500
123,100

1,000
161,300
417,700
323,700
235,000
131,100

900
145,500
407,700
322,500
229,400
139,100

800
134,800
400,000
322,600
224,900
145,600

800
124,800
395,700
326,100
219,700
152,300

600
113,700
385,700
328,200
213,900
158,300

Note: Data are rounded to the nearest 100. Data may have been revised from previously published statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to missing
data. All populations are based on a custody count as of December 31.
aExcludes prisoners in private federal facilities.
bIncludes prisoners in private state facilities.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Corrections Reporting Program, 2001–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2018; Survey of Inmates in State
and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

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APPEndIx TAblE 2
Deaths of federal prisoners in federally and privately
operated prison facilities, by cause of death, 2015–2018
Number of deaths
Illnessa
AIDS-relatedb
Suicide
Accidentc
Homicided
Other/unknown
Mortality rate per 100,000
federal prisoners
Illnessa
AIDS-relatedb
Suicide
Accidentc
Homicided
Other/unknown

2015
464
407
1
21
16
16
3

2016
395
343
1
19
14
15
3

2017
388
323
6
24
8
10
17

2018
383
292
0
29
14
12
36

237
209
1!
11
8
8
2!

210
183
1!
10
7
8
2!

213
181
3!
13
4!
5
9

214
163
0
16
8
7
20

Note: Includes deaths in federal prison facilities operated by the Federal
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) or operated privately under a BOP contract.
Until 2015, federal deaths were submitted as an aggregate count by the
BOP, with limited details regarding cause of death, and excluded deaths
in private federal facilities. Excludes executions. For execution data, see
Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings (NCJ 253060, BJS, July 2019).
See Methodology. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of
deaths and a 1-day BOP custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases,
or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology –
Interpreting rates among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes AIDS-related deaths.
bIncludes persons who died of illness and were identified as HIV-positive
or having AIDS at the time of death.
cIncludes deaths due to drug or alcohol intoxication.
dIncludes homicides committed by other prisoners, incidental to
the use of force by staff, or resulting from injuries sustained prior
to incarceration.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
2015–2018; and Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015–2018.

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APPEndIx TAblE 3
Illness mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent characteristics,
2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
225

2009
228

2010
226

2011
226

2012
227

2013
236

2014
238

2015
247

2016
253

2017
262

2018
267

231
136

235
144

232
137

233
132

235
122

243
132

246
133

255
143

261
142

272
138

276
145

337
213
122
49

353
218
119
46

356
216
115
42

372
215
107
35

381
213
110
36

403
217
116
36

404
225
120
39

425
236
120
39

439
248
115
38

460
259
119
35

466
266
126
32

27 !
14
29
110
416
1,777

13 !
15
26
106
397
1,765

41 !
15
25
98
382
1,658

47 !
14
25
94
364
1,598

56 !
14
24
85
346
1,558

23 !
15
24
81
338
1,567

29 !
15
23
75
324
1,538

33 !
16
24
71
315
1,544

73 !
14
24
70
298
1,530

79 !
13
27
69
281
1,540

89 !
10
27
68
271
1,517

Note: Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private
state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths
and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

27

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APPEndIx TAblE 4
Cancer mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent characteristics,
2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
63

2009
67

2010
71

2011
75

2012
77

2013
81

2014
82

2015
86

2016
88

2017
91

2018
93

65
33

70
35

73
40

77
48

79
44

84
45

85
43

88
51

91
53

94
49

96
49

103
58
24
15

114
62
23
13

119
66
28
15

130
68
30
11

134
71
31
12

145
75
32
11

144
79
34
11

149
84
36
11

154
89
38
11

162
89
40
10

166
91
41
9

14 !
1!
4
22
113
577

13 !
2
4
20
115
592

14 !
3
4
22
117
584

16 !
4
5
21
118
584

19 !
4
5
21
113
573

23 !
3
6
22
116
572

0
2
5
22
114
553

0
2
6
21
113
550

37 !
2!
6
19
104
558

79 !
2!
6
17
99
558

89 !
2!
5
16
95
554

Note: Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private
state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths
and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

28

■

APPEndIx TAblE 5
Heart disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent
characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
64

2009
64

2010
64

2011
65

2012
64

2013
67

2014
68

2015
73

2016
78

2017
84

2018
87

67
33

66
37

66
30

67
30

67
27

69
31

71
31

76
35

81
37

88
39

91
37

99
62
30
12

99
63
29
12

101
64
28
10

107
65
25
8

107
66
23
9

114
67
24
11

117
69
24
13

127
76
26
12

136
82
25
11

147
92
27
9

151
95
31
10

0
4
8
31
106
550

0
4
8
31
98
526

14 !
4
8
32
94
488

16 !
4
8
33
90
468

19 !
3
7
30
86
448

0
5
7
28
82
455

29 !
5
8
25
80
450

33 !
7
9
24
81
467

37 !
5
10
24
83
472

0
4
10
26
85
490

0
5
11
26
85
484

Note: Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private
state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths
and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

29

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APPEndIx TAblE 6
Liver disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent
characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
24

2009
25

2010
24

2011
25

2012
24

2013
26

2014
26

2015
26

2016
24

2017
22

2018
20

25
10

26
10

25
10

26
9

25
9

27
13

27
14

27
16

24
13

23
11

21
11

37
14
25
8

40
15
24
8

42
14
21
5

44
16
19
5

44
14
20
5

47
16
23
6

46
15
25
5

46
15
25
5

45
14
20
5

41
14
16
5

38
12
15
4

0
1!
1
11
69
136

0
1!
1
11
67
137

14 !
1!
1
9
63
130

16 !
1!
1
10
59
138

19 !
0!
1
7
54
140

0
0!
1!
7
54
157

0
1!
1
5
50
152

0
1!
1
5
47
147

0
1!
1
5
41
127

0
1!
1!
5
33
119

0
1!
1!
5
26
107

Note: Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private
state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths
and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

30

■

APPEndIx TAblE 7
Respiratory disease mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent
characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
17

2009
16

2010
17

2011
16

2012
16

2013
16

2014
17

2015
18

2016
19

2017
19

2018
21

17
16

17
14

17
12

16
10

17
7

17
10

18
9

18
10

19
11

20
12

21
16

28
14
8
1!

28
14
8
1!

28
14
9
1!

29
12
7
1!

31
13
7
2!

32
12
7
3

32
14
8
3

34
15
7
3

35
16
8
3

37
16
9
2

40
18
10
2!

0
1!
2
6
20
121

0
2!
3
5
19
127

0
2
3
4
17
119

0
2!
3
4
16
123

0
2!
2
4
15
124

0
1!
2
4
16
124

0
1!
1
5
14
127

14 !
3
3
8
23
143

0
2
3
8
21
139

0
2
3
7
20
136

0
0
2
6
15
129

Note: Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private
state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths
and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

31

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APPEndIx TAblE 8
Mortality rate due to all other illnesses per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent
characteristics, 2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
48

2009
48

2010
43

2011
41

2012
40

2013
40

2014
40

2015
40

2016
41

2017
43

2018
44

49
36

49
39

44
39

41
32

41
31

41
30

40
32

41
29

42
26

44
25

45
30

65
48
32
12

66
50
30
11

61
45
27
10

59
43
23
9

60
41
26
7

61
39
27
6

61
40
28
6

64
39
25
6

66
41
24
8

69
43
25
8

68
46
28
8

0
4
9
28
84
350

0
5
9
27
78
351

0
4
7
21
72
302

0
4
7
18
65
273

0
5
6
17
64
255

0
4
6
16
58
250

0
4
5
14
55
244

0
4
5
14
50
244

0
4
5
14
47
238

0
3
7
14
45
236

0
3
7
14
46
233

Note: Excludes cancer; heart, liver, and respiratory diseases; and AIDS-related illnesses. Based on 3-year rolling averages. Labels show the most recent
year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in the
custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a 1-day custody population on December 31.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

32

■

APPEndIx TAblE 9
Rate of unnatural deaths per 100,000 state prisoners within each demographic group, by decedent characteristics,
2006–2018 (3-year rolling averages)
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
Whitea
Blacka
Hispanic
Othera,b
Age
17 or younger
18–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55 or older

2008
26

2009
25

2010
26

2011
27

2012
28

2013
29

2014
31

2015
32

2016
36

2017
42

2018
50

27
15

26
15

26
16

27
18

29
18

29
17

31
20

33
22

37
23

43
19

53
22

43
15
21
13

44
15
19
10

44
16
20
11

47
16
20
11

49
18
21
11

50
18
23
10

53
20
25
10

57
22
25
11

63
26
26
12

70
34
30
12

82
44
38
13

41 !
18
23
27
30
40

40 !
19
22
26
30
36

41 !
19
23
27
30
38

31 !
18
23
29
32
39

38 !
19
23
30
33
46

23 !
19
24
31
32
46

29 !
22
26
30
35
51

33 !
24
29
33
36
46

37 !
30
30
38
39
48

0
36
35
45
43
55

0
41
44
51
56
65

Note: Unnatural deaths include deaths caused by suicide, accident, homicide, or drug or alcohol intoxication. Based on 3-year rolling averages.
Labels show the most recent year only (for example, 2006–2008 is shown as 2008). Includes deaths in private state facilities. Mortality rates are per
100,000 inmates held in the custody of state prisons. Mortality rates are based on the annual number of deaths and a 1-day custody population on
December 31.
! Interpret with caution. Estimate is based on 10 or fewer cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. See Methodology – Interpreting rates
among small populations, p. 24.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic whites and “black” refers to non-Hispanic blacks).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races. Due to the small
number of deaths and prison populations of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, mortality
rates for these populations are unstable and not shown. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2006–2018; National Prisoner Statistics, 2006–2018; Survey of Inmates in
State Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001-2018 – Statistical Tables | April 2021

33

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the
principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal
victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime,
and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state,
tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable
statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports
improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and
participates with national and international organizations to develop and
recommend national standards for justice statistics. Doris J. James is the
acting director.
This report was written by E. Ann Carson. Stephanie Mueller and Zhen
Zeng verified the report.
Edrienne Su edited the report. Carrie Epps-Carey produced the report.
April 2021, NCJ 255970

1111111111111111111111 IIII Ill II Ill
NCJ 255970

Office of Justice Programs
Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice
www.ojp.gov