U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

BJS

December 2012, NCJ 239911

During 2010, 4,150 inmates died while in the 

custody of local jails and state prisons—a 5% 

decline from 2009. Local jails accounted for 

about a quarter of all inmate deaths, with 918 inmates 

who died in custody in 2010. The number of jail inmate 

deaths declined from 2009 to 2010 (down 3%), while 

the mortality rate remained relatively stable, from 

128 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates in 2009 to 125 per 

100,000 in 2010. The five leading causes of jail inmate 

deaths were suicide, heart disease, drug or alcohol 

intoxication, cancer, and liver disease.

Most inmates who died in custody were serving time 

in state prisons (78%). In 2010, 3,232 state prison 

inmates died in custody—a 5% decline from 2009. The 

mortality rate in state prisons declined slightly, from 

257 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates in 2009 to 245 

per 100,000 in 2010. In 2010, the five leading causes of 

state prison inmate deaths were cancer, heart disease, 

liver disease, respiratory disease, and suicide. 

The data in this report were developed from the 

Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) Deaths in Custody 

Reporting Program (DCRP), an annual data 

collection that documents inmate mortality in local 

jails and state prisons. Annual collection of data from 

jails began in 2000, followed by prisons in 2001. This 

report examines deaths of inmates in state prison and 

local jail custody between 2000 and 2010. Statistical 

tables provide information about the causes and 

circumstances of local jail and state prison inmate 

deaths and present trends by cause of death, selected 

decedent characteristics, and states where the jails and 

prisons were located.

Mortality in Local Jails and State 

Prisons, 2000-2010 - Statistical Tables

Margaret E. Noonan, BJS Statistician

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Number

20102009200820072006200520042003200220012000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Mortality rate

Rate per 100,000

Number

Figure 1 

Jail inmate deaths in custody, 2000–2010

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting 

Program, 2001–2010.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

Number

2010200920082007200620052004200320022001

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Mortality rate

Number Rate per 100,000

Figure 2 

State prison inmate deaths in custody, 2001–2010

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting 

Program and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 2

Mortality in local jails

Cause of death

 The number of inmates who died while in the custody of 

local jails declined in 2010, falling to 918 from the 951 

deaths in 2009, representing the third consecutive annual 

decrease since the number of jail deaths peaked at 1,100 

in 2007 (table 1).

 Suicide, the leading cause of local jail inmate deaths, 

remained at about the same level in 2010 (305 suicides) as 

in 2009 (304), although the number has trended upward 

slightly since 2006.*

 The number of jail inmate deaths from heart disease 

increased in 2010 to 240, up from 199 occurring in 2009. 

The annual average number of heart disease deaths was 222 

over the past 10 years (excluding 2008 data as noted above).

 The five leading causes of jail inmate deaths in 2010—

suicide, heart disease, drug or alcohol intoxication, cancer, 

and liver diseases—were the same as in 2009. In all years 

prior to 2009, AIDS-related deaths were among the five 

leading causes of death (table 2).

 Since an initial decline in 2008, the mortality rate for jail 

inmates—125 per 100,000 inmates in 2010—has remained 

relatively unchanged. Likewise, the annual mortality rate 

between 2000 and 2008 showed little variation, increasing 

or decreasing between 1% and 3% (table 3). 

 The suicide rate in local jails declined over time from 49 

per 100,000 inmates in 2001 to 36 per 100,000 in 2007. 

Since 2007, the rate has increased slightly to reach 42 per 

100,000 inmates in 2010 (excluding 2008 data as noted 

above).

 Jail inmates died of heart disease at a rate of 33 per 

100,000 inmates in 2010, similar to rates between 2000 

and 2006, but was slightly above the rate of 27 per 100,000 

inmates in 2009.

Decedent characteristics

 In 2010, males accounted for nearly 9 out of 10 jail inmate 

deaths (88%). In any single year between 2000 and 2010, 

males accounted for no less than 87% of jail deaths (table 5).

 Prior to 2008, the annual male rate was no more than 24% 

above the female rate, with the difference in most years 

being about 10% (table 6).

 From 2008 through 2010, the male and female mortality 

rates were about equal, signifying a convergence in their 

respective rates over time. Mortality rates for white and 

black inmates in 2010 were nearly equal to the mortality 

rates in 2009. 

 The Hispanic mortality rate declined from 72 to 60 per 

100,000 inmates from 2009 to 2010, which was one of the 

largest single year declines for Hispanic jail inmate deaths 

between 2000 and 2010. 

State-level jail populations

 California, Texas, New York, and Florida together 

reported about a third of jail deaths in 2010. These states 

also had the largest jail populations, comprising 31% of 

the total jail population in 2010 (table 7).

 Between 2000 and 2010, nearly all (97% to 99%) of the 

approximately 2,800 jail jurisdictions in the United States 

submitted population and mortality data to the DCRP. 

These jurisdictions reported a total of 10,905 deaths over 

the 11-year period (table 9).

Cause of death by decedent characteristics, 2000 to 

2010 average annual trends

 Between 2000 and 2010, about a third (767 or 32%) of 

heart disease deaths occurred within seven days of the 

inmate’s admission to jail. Less than 10% of jail inmate 

deaths due to cancer (4%) and AIDS-related illnesses 

(7%) occurred in the first seven days (table 10).

 Between 2000 and 2010, the male suicide rate (42 per 

100,000 male inmates) was 55% higher than the rate for 

females (27 per 100,000 female inmates) (table 11).

 White jail inmates committed suicide (80 per 100,000) 

at a rate that was more than 3 times that of Hispanics 

(25 per 100,000) and more than 5 times that of black jail 

inmates (15 per 100,000). 

 Jail inmates age 55 or older had the highest suicide rate 

and committed suicide at twice the rate of jail inmates 

ages 18 to 24, who had the lowest suicide rate.

 Jails reported 60 suicides per 100,000 inmates age 55 or 

older, compared to 28 suicides per 100,000 inmates ages 18 

to 24.

 Between 2000 and 2010, 9 out of every 100,000 jail 

inmates who were age 55 or older died as a victim of 

homicide, a rate that was between 1.8 and 4.4 times higher 

than the homicide mortality rate of younger inmates. *The number of suicides reported for 2008 is undercounted due to the 

relatively large number (n=203 or 22% of deaths in 2008) of local jail deaths 

missing information about cause of death. For trend comparisons, the 2008 

counts classified by cause of death are omitted from the discussion. 
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 3

Mortality in state prisons

Cause of death

 The number of inmates dying while in the custody of state 

prisons declined from 3,414 in 2009 to 3,232 in 2010, 

for a total decrease of 5%, which is the largest decline in 

the number of prison deaths since 2001 when the DCRP 

began collecting data on prison deaths (table 12).

 In 2010, cancer was the most common cause of death in 

prisons, followed by heart disease, respiratory disease, 

liver disease and suicide. In each year between 2001 and 

2010, cancer and heart disease combined accounted for 

about half of all prison deaths (table 13).

 In 2010, the cancer mortality rate in state prisons (68 per 

100,000) exceeded the heart disease mortality rate (65 per 

100,000) for the third consecutive year (table 14).

 AIDS-related deaths were among the five leading causes 

of death in prison in 2001 and 2002. The AIDS-related 

mortality rate declined 76% between 2001 and 2010.

 Between 2001 and 2010, suicide was among the five 

leading causes of deaths in prison in all but two years. 

For the same period, the prisoner suicide rate was nearly 

equal to both the liver and respiratory disease mortality 

rates but was consistently about 4 times lower than heart 

disease and cancer mortality rates.

Decedent characteristics

 In 2010, males accounted for nearly all prisoner deaths 

(96%). In any single year between 2001 and 2010, males 

accounted for no less than 95% of prison deaths 

(table 16).

 The mortality rate for prisoners age 55 or older declined 

27% in 2010, while the population of prisoners age 55 or 

older increased by a third (table 17).

 In 2010, male prisoners died at twice the rate of female 

prisoners. 

 The male mortality rate among prisoners declined 4% 

between 2009 and 2010, and the female mortality rate 

declined 20% during the same period. 

 White prison inmates had the highest mortality rate of 

all race or ethnic groups between 2001 and 2010, with a 

mortality rate between 1.4 and 2.4 times higher than any 

other race or ethnic group in any single year in the 10-

year period.

State-level prison populations

 Half of the 50 state departments of corrections reported 

a decrease in the number of deaths occurring in state 

prisons between 2009 and 2010, with eight reporting a 

decline of more than 25% in the number (table 19).

 The federal prisoner mortality rate peaked at 233 deaths 

per 100,000 prisoners in 2005 before declining 18% to 192 

per 100,000 in 2006. The rate declined again to 179 deaths 

per 100,000 inmates in 2010 (table 20).

Cause of death by decedent characteristics

 Over the 10-year period between 2001 and 2010, male 

prisoners were 1.7 times more likely to die than female 

prisoners. Heart disease-related mortality contributed to 

the largest difference between male and female prisoner 

mortality rates, with male prisoners 3.4 times more likely 

to die of heart disease than female prisoners (table 23).

 White prison inmates were, on average, 3 times more 

likely than black inmates to commit suicide over the 10-

year period. 

 On average, over the 10 years between 2001 and 2010, 

black prison inmates had an AIDS-related mortality rate 

at least twice that of prison inmates of any other race or 

ethnic group.

 Both heart disease and cancer had the largest differences 

in mortality rates by age of inmates, with rates for inmates 

age 55 or older at least 5 times higher than any other age 

group.

 Liver disease had the smallest differences in mortality 

rates by age, with inmates age 55 or older dying at a rate 

that was 1.9 times that of inmates between ages 45 to 54. 

 On average, over the 10 years from 2001 to 2010, age 

had little differences in suicide rates, with prisoners 

committing suicide at nearly equal rates, across age 

groups.

Cause of death by state

 The mortality rate for state prisoners for the 10-year 

period between 2001 and 2010 varied between 155 deaths 

per 100,000 inmates and 439 deaths per 100,000 inmates, 

with a median rate of 242 deaths per 100,000 inmates 

(table 25).

 Mortality rates between states are not directly comparable 

because rates are not adjusted for differences in age, sex, 

race, geographic location, and any other characteristics.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 4

List of tables

Table 1 

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 

2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Table 2 

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 

2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Table 3 

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of 

death, 2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Table 4 

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent 

characteristics, 2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Table 5 

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent 

characteristics, 2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Table 6 

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected 

decedent characteristics, 2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Table 7 

Number of jail deaths, by state and year, 2000–2010 . . . . 9

Table 8 

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 

2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Table 9 

Number of jail jurisdictions reporting to the Deaths in 

Custody Reporting Program, by state and year, 

2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Table 10 

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and 

selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . 12

Table 11 

Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail 

inmates, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 

2000–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Table 12 

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 

2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Table 13 

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 

2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Table 14 

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of 

death, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Table 15 

Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected 

characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Table 16 

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected 

characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Table 17 

Estimated number of state prisoners in custody at 

midyear, by selected characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . 16

Table 18 

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected 

characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table 19 

Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 

2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Table 20 

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 

2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Table 21 

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and 

selected characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 22 

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and 

selected characteristics, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 23 

Average mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by 

cause of death and selected characteristics, 

2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Table 24 

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and 

state, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Table 25 

Average mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by 

cause of death and state, 2001–2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 5

Table 1

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2010

Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008a 2009 2010

All causes 904 942 970 1002 1021 1045 1094 1100 959 951 918

Illness 516 486 508 512 532 501 605 608 446 489 477

Heart disease 198 215 221 240 227 202 246 231 177 199 240

AIDS-related 57 59 51 54 52 40 54 43 31 26 26

Cancer 31 25 39 35 29 37 39 42 25 47 34

Liver disease 22 27 25 30 31 31 27 40 34 32 29

Respiratory 32 19 23 22 35 22 27 49 35 31 20

All otherb 176 141 149 131 158 169 212 203 144 154 128

Suicide 289 312 314 296 299 286 278 284 228 304 305

Drug/alcohol intoxication 37 58 54 89 75 83 87 79 43 64 54

Accident 25 35 34 28 32 24 32 18 15 26 23

Homicide 17 19 18 15 24 22 36 20 16 19 20

Other/unknown 17 24 35 52 50 110 52 71 8 25 13

Missingc 3 8 7 10 9 19 4 20 203 24 26

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aIn 2008, 203 cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as “other/unknown.” See Methodology for more information.

bIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

cIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.

Table 2

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death, 2000–2010

Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008a 2009 2010

All causes 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Illness 57.1% 51.6% 52.4% 51.1% 52.1% 47.9% 55.3% 55.3% 46.5% 51.4% 52.0%

Heart disease 21.9 22.8 22.8 24.0 22.2 19.3 22.5 21.0 18.5 20.9 26.1

AIDS-related 6.3 6.3 5.3 5.4 5.1 3.8 4.9 3.9 3.2 2.7 2.8

Cancer 3.4 2.7 4.0 3.5 2.8 3.5 3.6 3.8 2.6 4.9 3.7

Liver disease 2.4 2.9 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.2

Respiratory 3.5 2.0 2.4 2.2 3.4 2.1 2.5 4.5 3.6 3.3 2.2

All otherb 19.5 15.0 15.4 13.1 15.5 16.2 19.4 18.5 15.0 16.2 13.9

Suicide 32.0% 33.1% 32.4% 29.5% 29.3% 27.4% 25.4% 25.8% 23.8% 32.0% 33.2%

Drug/alcohol intoxication 4.1% 6.2% 5.6% 8.9% 7.3% 7.9% 8.0% 7.2% 4.5% 6.7% 5.9%

Accident 2.8% 3.7% 3.5% 2.8% 3.1% 2.3% 2.9% 1.6% 1.6% 2.7% 2.5%

Homicide 1.9% 2.0% 1.9% 1.5% 2.4% 2.1% 3.3% 1.8% 1.7% 2.0% 2.2%

Other/unknown 1.9% 2.5% 3.6% 5.2% 4.9% 10.5% 4.8% 6.5% 0.8% 2.6% 1.4%

Missingc 0.3% 0.8% 0.7% 1.0% 0.9% 1.8% 0.4% 1.8% 21.2% 2.5% 2.8%

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aIn 2008, 203 cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as “other/unknown.” See Methodology for more information.

bIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

cIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 6

Table 3

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death, 2000–2010

Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008a 2009 2010

All causes 151 147 145 146 143 141 142 141 123 128 125

Illness 86 76 76 74 74 67 78 78 57 66 65

Heart disease 33 34 33 35 32 27 32 30 23 27 33

AIDS-related 10 9 8 8 7 5 7 5 4 3 4

Cancer 5 4 6 5 4 5 5 5 3 6 5

Liver disease 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 4

Respiratory diseases 5 3 3 3 5 3 3 6 4 4 3

All otherb 29 22 22 19 22 23 27 26 18 21 17

Suicide 48 49 47 43 42 39 36 36 29 41 42

Drug/alcohol intoxication 6 9 8 13 10 11 11 10 6 9 7

Accident 4 5 5 4 4 3 4 2 2 3 3

Homicide 3 3 3 2 3 3 5 3 2 3 3

Other/unknown 3 4 5 8 7 15 7 9 1 3 2

Missingc 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 26 3 4

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. 

aIn 2008, 203 cases were missing cause of death information. These cases were classified as “other/unknown.” See Methodology for more information.

bIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

cIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.

Table 4

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2010

Characteristic 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 904 942 970 1,002 1,021 1,045 1,094 1,100 959 951 918

Sex

Male 813 846 863 867 893 925 964 970 840 841 804

Female 91 92 107 133 128 120 130 130 119 110 114

Race/Hispanic origina

White 453 513 534 538 500 560 528 548 512 535 516

Black/African American 305 283 305 322 359 332 408 398 311 271 265

Hispanic/Latino 118 115 113 119 135 116 126 125 107 109 90

Otherb 17 20 10 16 24 22 27 27 27 31 23

Age

17 or younger 8 8 7 5 7 5 6 4 6 3 3

18–24 89 107 100 103 105 107 103 101 84 86 80

25–34 184 192 186 211 210 192 196 199 168 175 187

35–44 265 280 337 283 300 284 312 292 247 235 201

45–54 239 239 236 266 263 275 303 322 275 258 253

55 or older 115 111 102 128 133 170 168 182 178 194 172

Legal status

Convictedc 258 252 245 255 226 231 238 246 200 247 232

Unconvictedd 628 683 717 739 786 798 846 850 754 692 664

Time served

7 or fewer days 329 347 362 398 399 384 385 392 347 366 346

8–30 169 174 163 177 181 192 201 184 163 165 174

31–60 108 105 104 93 112 108 125 137 109 100 93

61–120 116 125 120 121 112 129 149 146 122 114 92

121–180 56 63 74 72 75 69 80 82 66 52 58

180 or more 119 112 133 124 125 127 124 153 129 146 132

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. 

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. 

dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as “other” or was unspecified.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 7

Table 5

Percent of local jail inmate deaths, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2010

Characteristic 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Sex

Male 89.9% 90.2% 89.0% 86.7% 87.5% 88.5% 88.1% 88.2% 87.6% 88.4% 87.6%

Female 10.1 9.8 11.0 13.3 12.5 11.5 11.9 11.8 12.4 11.6 12.4

Race/Hispanic origina

White 50.7% 55.1% 55.5% 54.1% 49.1% 54.4% 48.5% 49.9% 53.5% 56.6% 57.7%

Black/African American 34.2 30.4 31.7 32.4 35.3 32.2 37.5 36.2 32.5 28.6 29.6

Hispanic/Latino 13.2 12.4 11.7 12.0 13.3 11.3 11.6 11.4 11.2 11.5 10.1

Otherb 1.9 2.1 1.0 1.6 2.4 2.1 2.5 2.5 2.8 3.3 2.6

Age

17 or younger 0.9% 0.9% 0.7% 0.5% 0.7% 0.5% 0.6% 0.4% 0.6% 0.3% 0.3%

18–24 9.9 11.4 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.4 9.5 9.2 8.8 9.0 8.9

25–34 20.4 20.5 19.2 21.2 20.6 18.6 18.0 18.1 17.5 18.4 20.9

35–44 29.4 29.9 34.8 28.4 29.5 27.5 28.7 26.5 25.8 24.7 22.4

45–54 26.6 25.5 24.4 26.7 25.8 26.6 27.8 29.3 28.7 27.1 28.2

55 or older 12.8 11.8 10.5 12.9 13.1 16.5 15.4 16.5 18.6 20.4 19.2

Legal status

Convictedc 29.1% 27.0% 25.5% 25.7% 22.3% 22.4% 22.0% 22.4% 21.0% 26.3% 25.9%

Unconvictedd 70.9 73.0 74.5 74.3 77.7 77.6 78.0 77.6 79.0 73.7 74.1

Time served

7 or fewer days 36.7% 37.5% 37.9% 40.4% 39.7% 38.1% 36.2% 35.8% 37.1% 38.8% 38.7%

8–30 18.8 18.8 17.1 18.0 18.0 19.0 18.9 16.8 17.4 17.5 19.4

31–60 12.0 11.3 10.9 9.4 11.2 10.7 11.7 12.5 11.6 10.6 10.4

61–120 12.9 13.5 12.6 12.3 11.2 12.8 14.0 13.3 13.0 12.1 10.3

121–180 6.2 6.8 7.7 7.3 7.5 6.8 7.5 7.5 7.1 5.5 6.5

180 or more 13.3 12.1 13.9 12.6 12.5 12.6 11.7 14.0 13.8 15.5 14.7

Note: Mortality data are revised and updated as new data become available. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Natives, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

cIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. 

dIncludes inmates whose status was marked as other or was unspecified.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 8

Table 6

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2010

Characteristic 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Totala 151 147 145 146 143 141 142 141 123 128 125

Sex

Male 153 150 146 143 142 143 143 142 123 129 122

Female 133 124 138 162 145 127 130 129 120 121 123

Race/Hispanic originb

White 211 224 223 218 195 213 193 198 188 205 201

Black/African American 128 111 114 117 126 122 145 139 111 101 101

Hispanic/Latino 107 98 92 94 102 85 89 87 67 72 60

 Otherc 52 57 27 ! 43 61 37 44 43 38 46 34

Age

17 or younger 122 ! 114 ! 95 ! 69 ! 96 68 82 58 86 44 43 !

18–24 52 59 53 53 53 52 49 48 40 42 40

25–34 96 93 87 96 92 81 80 81 67 72 78

35–44 169 167 193 160 165 153 153 156 138 143 124

45–54 396 371 350 362 325 311 313 299 259 257 255

55 or older 870 785 691 785 732 848 758 729 666 712 640

Legal status

Convictedd 98 95 92 94 80 82 81 83 69 85 80

Unconvictedd,e 187 182 179 177 182 173 176 175 154 152 149

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Mortality rates 

are based on the average daily population (ADP) as reported to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). See Methodology for more information on estimates of 

ADP. 

! Interpret data with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information. 

aRate for 2010 includes 22 deaths for which demographic data were missing.

bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.

cIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

dIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. Forms were modified starting in 2009 to identify inmates who were convicted, or returned on a 

probation or parole violation. As with previous years, these cases are counted as convicted. See Methodology for more information on changes to the survey.

eIncludes inmates whose status was marked as “other” or was unspecified.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010; Annual Survey of Jails, 2000–2010; National Inmate Survey, 2007–2009; and 

Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2002.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 9

Table 7

Number of jail deaths, by state and year, 2000–2010

State 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All states 904 942 970 1,002 1,021 1,044 1,094 1,100 959 951 918

Alabama 24 27 21 15 23 23 34 21 19 20 28

Alaska ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Arizona 15 18 24 16 12 27 19 21 12 11 16

Arkansas 9 13 14 22 13 7 11 10 15 5 7

California 109 124 131 126 120 156 126 129 107 133 121

Colorado 13 16 14 13 11 18 13 21 21 14 20

Connecticut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Delaware ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

District of Columbia 4 0 10 12 13 11 12 10 7 8 4

Florida 82 98 79 85 86 79 99 103 77 87 55

Georgia 38 39 50 45 54 41 46 44 55 45 48

Hawaii ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Idaho 3 3 1 2 1 7 5 7 1 6 3

Illinois 31 21 22 30 41 25 37 31 28 29 23

Indiana 21 21 14 23 18 16 26 18 11 16 22

Iowa 2 4 3 1 4 4 3 5 2 6 3

Kansas 9 9 12 10 15 11 10 7 12 11 10

Kentucky 16 13 12 14 16 22 21 25 22 17 21

Louisiana 10 22 22 32 41 31 26 31 34 22 26

Maine 2 2 7 3 2 1 5 1 1 2 3

Maryland 22 20 20 25 15 23 27 32 25 20 24

Massachusetts 5 10 16 9 8 21 14 14 17 17 16

Michigan 23 17 18 26 20 29 21 18 12 20 18

Minnesota 6 8 6 9 9 8 11 8 4 3 10

Mississippi 9 12 17 17 17 16 18 18 14 13 14

Missouri 16 14 8 17 6 10 13 25 18 19 21

Montana 3 1 5 5 3 6 1 2 2 6 3

Nebraska 5 5 6 2 4 2 6 2 5 7 6

Nevada 15 18 6 6 8 14 9 10 8 14 8

New Hampshire 3 2 5 3 3 1 4 4 2 5 1

New Jersey 31 17 17 38 34 32 36 34 27 25 29

New Mexico 15 9 9 7 17 11 21 15 11 11 17

New York 57 52 51 47 43 51 52 52 32 37 37

North Carolina 15 17 32 22 21 17 21 28 19 21 24

North Dakota 1 1 2 2 1 0 2 1 1 2 2

Ohio 23 20 30 30 18 24 26 26 23 26 23

Oklahoma 15 18 9 13 14 18 21 24 17 18 18

Oregon 10 10 7 7 15 8 11 3 15 7 9

Pennsylvania 38 50 51 53 66 57 56 55 44 37 31

Rhode Island ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

South Carolina 17 23 17 11 16 19 21 14 19 15 19

South Dakota 4 2 1 0 1 3 1 1 2 2 0

Tennessee 29 28 29 23 39 36 30 35 37 34 22

Texas 97 84 96 96 99 88 98 90 86 76 84

Utah 6 6 13 7 11 10 7 11 6 12 8

Vermont ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Virginia 34 41 36 42 33 30 36 59 49 38 29

Washington 8 10 11 16 11 11 19 15 16 14 16

West Virginia 2 6 2 6 5 6 6 4 6 7 5

Wisconsin 7 11 12 11 10 11 11 15 17 11 13

Wyoming 0 0 2 3 4 3 2 1 1 2 1

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Although data are presented by state, jails are locally run 

jurisdictions under the authority of a sheriff, county government, or other local authority. Jail jurisdictions include counties (parishes in Louisiana) or municipal 

governments that administer one or more local jails. See Methodology for more information on the function of jails.

... Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 10

Table 8

Mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by state, 2000–2010

State 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All states 151 147 145 146 143 141 142 141 123 127 125

Alabama 185 228 157 119 171 157 228 132 118 145 186

Alaska ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Arizona 138 132 189 116 82 176 126 127 67 73 ! 121

Arkansas 171 ! 233 229 352 211 116 ! 172 ! 143 ! 203 67 ! 94 !

California 150 171 173 165 154 190 154 155 128 167 162

Colorado 142 154 126 111 95 ! 136 94 155 160 106 157

Connecticut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Delaware ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

District of Columbia 242 ! 0 618 ! 380 573 316 ! 518 288 ! 223 ! 268 ! 129 !

Florida 166 196 145 159 143 125 153 154 115 141 97

Georgia 113 110 132 114 128 92 100 98 115 97 102

Hawaii ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Idaho 112 ! 101 ! 30 ! 59 ! 34 ! 178 ! 127 ! 172 ! 25 ! 160 ! 85 !

Illinois 178 107 106 140 201 84 181 150 134 148 114

Indiana 165 124 95 149 109 92 139 104 62 ! 87 124

Iowa 66 ! 129 ! 83 ! 26 ! 110 ! 96 ! 75 ! 120 ! 49 ! 154 ! 75 !

Kansas 177 ! 159 ! 195 134 ! 219 148 ! 130 ! 95 ! 156 157 ! 130 !

Kentucky 139 68 86 97 98 134 124 138 122 95 120

Louisiana 44 ! 82 81 115 143 104 100 104 117 77 81

Maine 154 ! 142 ! 464 ! 191 ! 135 ! 64 ! 283 ! 61 ! 63 ! 127 ! 282 !

Maryland 210 182 166 199 116 181 207 228 184 164 194

Massachusetts 53 ! 91 ! 136 73 ! 61 ! 168 101 103 128 129 149

Michigan 145 103 108 156 111 159 112 98 68 118 109

Minnesota 121 ! 141 ! 101 ! 140 ! 128 ! 110 ! 151 ! 106 ! 56 ! 44 ! 146 !

Mississippi 91 ! 129 167 156 162 146 164 152 127 134 133

Missouri 211 171 89 ! 181 60 ! 97 ! 116 235 154 165 197

Montana 232 ! 53 ! 277 ! 260 ! 149 ! 288 ! 50 ! 116 ! 112 ! 344 ! 154 !

Nebraska 234 ! 211 ! 241 ! 80 ! 140 ! 68 ! 219 ! 68 ! 159 ! 204 ! 177 !

Nevada 288 333 106 ! 80 ! 116 ! 228 139 ! 131 ! 106 ! 181 108 !

New Hampshire 338 ! 145 ! 323 ! 192 ! 181 ! 54 ! 195 ! 196 ! 99 ! 237 ! 48 !

New Jersey 205 108 104 225 196 177 189 185 151 152 182

New Mexico 253 140 ! 136 ! 95 ! 210 128 ! 233 171 121 ! 133 ! 191

New York 208 181 166 154 141 166 161 166 106 131 123

North Carolina 122 132 212 144 128 95 115 147 98 128 129

North Dakota 162 ! 154 ! 268 ! 242 ! 114 ! 0 201 ! 104 ! 113 ! 208 ! 223 !

Ohio 143 118 161 153 91 122 126 127 119 130 132

Oklahoma 208 249 119 ! 158 154 179 191 222 169 172 209

Oregon 150 ! 132 ! 110 ! 106 ! 230 117 ! 165 ! 36 ! 238 117 ! 153 !

Pennsylvania 135 165 153 164 200 166 155 144 118 98 87

Rhode Island ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

South Carolina 194 218 140 100 ! 138 157 165 103 139 119 155

South Dakota 344 ! 176 ! 77 ! 0 74 ! 198 ! 64 ! 61 ! 130 ! 141 ! 0 !

Tennessee 143 138 138 100 168 149 92 139 139 129 85

Texas 167 154 171 159 157 165 144 130 124 113 123

Utah 112 ! 107 ! 223 112 ! 169 ! 156 ! 107 ! 160 ! 87 ! 173 110 !

Vermont ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Virginia 170 185 152 168 129 113 127 200 170 134 100

Washington 93 ! 81 ! 91 ! 136 93 ! 85 ! 142 109 119 107 130

West Virginia 71 ! 185 ! 65 ! 182 ! 138 ! 147 ! 139 ! 92 ! 138 ! 171 ! 109 !

Wisconsin 54 ! 86 ! 89 78 ! 69 ! 74 ! 73 ! 96 110 90 ! 92

Wyoming 0 0 216 ! 276 ! 325 ! 224 ! 133 ! 65 ! 65 ! 129 ! 59 !

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Although data are presented by state, jails are locally run 

jurisdictions. Mortality rates are based on the average daily population (ADP). Mortality rates between states are not directly comparable because rates are not adjusted 

for age, sex, race, geographic location, or other characteristics. (See Methodology for more information on the function of jails and ADP.)

... Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.

 ! Interpret data with caution; estimate based on too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 11

Table 9

Number of jail jurisdictions reporting to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, by state and year, 2000–2010

State 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All states 2,988 2,973 2,958 2,941 2,924 2,897 2,869 2,848 2,833 2,755 2,753 

Alabama 151 149 147 146 145 142 136 132 125 116 117

Alaska 15 15 15 14 14 15 15 15 15 14 15

Arizona 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

Arkansas 85 84 84 83 82 83 81 81 81 77 71

California 68 67 67 67 67 66 65 64 64 64 63

Colorado 55 55 55 55 55 55 53 53 53 53 52

Connecticut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Delaware ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

District of Columbia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Florida 68 68 68 68 67 67 67 67 67 65 66

Georgia 176 174 174 172 170 167 164 162 159 152 153

Hawaii ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Idaho 39 38 38 38 38 38 38 37 37 36 34

Illinois 90 89 90 90 89 90 90 90 90 90 90

Indiana 90 91 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 89 89

Iowa 94 93 93 93 93 93 93 93 93 92 90

Kansas 95 95 95 95 95 95 94 94 93 91 92

Kentucky 80 78 80 79 79 76 74 74 74 70 71

Louisiana 87 86 85 85 85 83 83 83 83 78 81

Maine 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 11

Maryland 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 23 24

Massachusetts 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

Michigan 83 83 82 82 82 82 81 81 81 81 81

Minnesota 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 70 68 70

Mississippi 91 90 89 88 88 85 84 84 83 80 77

Missouri 125 125 125 124 120 119 120 119 119 112 115

Montana 41 41 40 40 41 40 40 40 40 38 39

Nebraska 64 63 63 63 63 63 62 62 62 61 61

Nevada 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

New Hampshire 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

New Jersey 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 21

New Mexico 34 35 35 34 34 32 32 32 32 29 29

New York 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 56 57

North Carolina 96 96 96 96 94 94 94 94 93 89 92

North Dakota 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 21 21 22 22

Ohio 97 96 96 93 93 93 92 91 91 91 90

Oklahoma 100 100 100 99 98 96 94 93 93 88 89

Oregon 33 33 33 33 33 32 32 32 32 32 31

Pennsylvania 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 62 63

Rhode Island ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

South Carolina 46 46 46 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 42

South Dakota 28 29 29 29 29 28 28 28 28 26 27

Tennessee 97 97 96 96 96 96 95 94 94 90 89

Texas 248 247 246 245 242 242 242 237 236 233 230

Utah 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26

Vermont ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Virginia 73 72 72 72 72 69 66 64 64 64 65

Washington 58 58 58 57 57 56 56 56 56 56 55

West Virginia* 28 28 19 18 16 13 12 12 12 12 12

Wisconsin 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 69 70

Wyoming 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Reporting jails include all jails that reported population or death 

data to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). All jails are asked to report population data regardless of whether an inmate death occurred. Although data 

are presented by state, jails are locally run jurisdictions under the authority of a sheriff, county government, or other local authority. Jail jurisdictions include counties 

(parishes in Louisiana) or municipal governments that administer one or more local jails. See Methodology for more information.

... Not available. Prisons and jails form one integrated system. See the prison tables for mortality data.

*In 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics began receiving data from a centralized regional jail respondent that covered all West Virginia jails.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 12

Table 10

Number of local jail inmate deaths, by cause of death and selected decedent characteristics, 2000–2010

Illness

Characteristic

Heart 

disease

AIDSrelated CancerLiver 

disease Respiratory All othera Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Total 2,396 493 383 328 315 1,765 3,195 723 292 226 

Sex

Male 2,153 430 345 296 256 1,471 2,929 581 264 222 

Female 243 63 38 32 59 293 265 142 28 4 

Race/Hispanic originb

White 1,115 81 163 177 141 726 2,245 446 186 82 

Black/African 

American 1,012 350 173 73 134 759 454 167 70 99 

Hispanic/Latino 216 59 39 71 33 233 370 92 28 41 

Otherc 41 3 7 5 5 34 114 14 7 2 

Age

17 or younger 2 3 0 0 2 4 41 4 1 1 

18–24 65 9 7 3 10 95 616 97 35 52 

25–34 231 88 25 19 39 237 973 223 71 54 

35–44 607 205 59 74 83 484 949 225 84 54 

45–54 842 155 139 166 97 602 474 141 73 43 

55 or older 645 32 153 66 84 341 135 31 28 21 

Legal status

Convictedd 731 134 110 86 83 473 558 132 86 59 

Unconvictede 1,647 354 271 242 227 1,280 2,621 587 205 161 

Time served

7 or fewer days 767 36 17 78 64 540 1,530 517 145 59 

8–30 487 96 49 57 87 375 513 46 41 51 

31–60 309 65 50 53 35 222 321 24 21 24 

61–120 308 108 67 51 50 228 331 45 30 36 

121–180 171 76 54 32 26 141 154 22 13 17 

180 or more 312 109 140 56 47 232 315 53 38 36 

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. 

aIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.

cIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

dIncludes inmates who returned to jail on a probation or parole violation.

eIncludes inmates whose status was marked as “other” or was unspecified.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 13

Table 11

Average annual mortality rate per 100,000 local jail inmates, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2000–2010

Illness

Characteristic

All 

causes

Heart 

disease AIDS Cancer

Liver 

disease Respiratory

All 

othera Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Total 139 30 6 5 4 4 22 41 9 4 3

Sex

Male 140 31 6 5 4 4 21 42 8 4 3

Female 132 25 7 4 3 6 30 27 15 3

Race/Hispanic originb

White 206 40 3 6 6 5 26 80 16 7 3

Black/African American 120 34 12 6 2 5 26 15 6 2 3

Hispanic/Latino 85 14 4 3 5 2 16 25 6 2 3

Otherc 43 7 1 ! 1 ! 1 ! 1 ! 6 20 2 1 ! !

Age

17 or younger 14 3 ! 4 ! 0 0 3 ! 5 ! 53 5 ! 1 ! 1 !

18–24 79 3 -- -- -- -- 4 28 4 2 2

25–34 83 9 3 1 1 2 9 39 9 3 2

35–44 156 31 11 3 4 4 25 49 12 4 3

45–54 310 89 16 15 18 10 64 50 15 8 5

55 or older 736 287 14 68 29 37 152 60 14 12 9

Legal status

Convictedd 85 24 4 4 3 3 15 18 4 3 2

Unconvictede 171 35 7 6 5 5 27 55 12 4 3

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. Mortality rates are 

based on the average daily population (ADP) as reported to the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP). See the Methodology for more information on estimations 

of inmate characteristic populations.

-- Less than 0.5.

! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.

aIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

bExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified.

cIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

dIncludes inmates who returned on a probation or parole violation. 

eIncludes inmates whose status was marked as “other” or was unspecified.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2000–2010; Annual Survey of Jails, 2000–2010; Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2002; and 

National Inmate Survey, 2007–2009.

Table 12

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2010

Cause of death 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All causes 2,869 2,934 3,152 3,123 3,168 3,233 3,389 3,450 3,414 3,232

Illness 2,567 2,615 2,830 2,783 2,817 2,830 2,980 3,032 3,020 2,867

Heart disease 770 816 821 848 856 872 863 843 873 853

Cancer 663 663 784 723 781 785 744 857 939 894

Liver disease 234 203 257 228 250 253 266 242 270 239

Respiratory 139 166 202 199 221 193 220 264 197 224

AIDS-related 272 242 209 146 154 132 120 98 94 73

All othera 489 525 557 639 555 595 767 728 647 584

Suicide 168 168 199 199 213 219 215 197 201 215

Drug/alcohol intoxication 35 37 23 22 37 56 41 58 50 39

Accident 22 29 26 34 28 32 28 26 31 34

Homicide 39 48 49 49 56 55 57 40 55 67

Other/unknown 0 0 25 36 17 41 16 97 0 0

Missingb 38 37 0 0 0 0 52 0 57 10

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

bIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent. See Methodology for details.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 14

Table 13

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death, 2001–2010

Cause of death 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All causes 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Illness 89.5% 89.1% 89.8% 89.1% 88.9% 87.5% 87.9% 87.9% 88.5% 88.7%

Heart disease 26.8 27.8 26.0 27.2 27.0 27.0 25.5 24.4 25.6 26.4

Cancer 23.1 22.6 24.9 23.2 24.7 24.3 22.0 24.8 27.5 27.7

Liver disease 8.2 6.9 8.2 7.3 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.0 7.9 7.4

Respiratory diseases 4.8 5.7 6.4 6.4 7.0 6.0 6.5 7.7 5.8 6.9

AIDS-related 9.5 8.2 6.6 4.7 4.9 4.1 3.5 2.8 2.8 2.3

All other illnessesa 17.0 17.9 17.7 20.5 17.5 18.4 22.6 21.1 19.0 18.1%

Suicide 5.9 5.7 6.3 6.4 6.7 6.8 6.3 5.7 5.9 6.7

Drug/alcohol intoxication 1.2 1.3 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.7 1.2 1.7 1.5 1.2

Accident 0.8 1.0 0.8 1.1 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1

Homicide 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.2 1.6 2.1

Other/unknown 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.2 0.5 1.3 0.5 2.8 0.0 0.0

Missingb 1.3 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 0.0 1.7 0.3

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

bIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent. See Methodology for details.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010.

Table 14

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death, 2001–2010

Cause of death 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All causes 242 245 257 252 253 249 256 260 257 245

Illness 216 218 231 224 225 218 225 228 228 217

Heart disease 65 68 67 68 68 67 65 64 66 65

Cancer 56 55 64 58 62 61 56 65 71 68

Liver disease 20 17 21 18 20 20 20 18 20 18

Respiratory 12 14 16 16 18 15 17 20 15 17

AIDS-related 23 20 17 12 12 10 9 7 7 6

All othera 41 44 45 52 44 46 58 55 49 44

Suicide 14 14 16 16 17 17 16 15 15 16

Drug/alcohol intoxication 3 3 2 2 3 4 3 4 4 3

Accident 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 3

Homicide 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 5

Other/unknown 0 ! 0 ! 2 3 1 3 1 7 0 ! 0 !

Missingb 3 3 0 ! 0 ! 0 ! 0 ! 4 0 ! 4 1 !

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. State prison mortality rates are per 

100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic 

location, or any other characteristic. 

! Interpret with caution; too few sample cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.

aIncludes other specified illnesses, such as cerebrovascular disease, nephritis, and diabetes and other moderately prevalent, but unspecified, illnesses. See Methodology

for details on illness classifications.

bIndicates an incomplete death record or incomplete answer from survey respondent. See Methodology for details.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010, National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2010
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 15

Table 15

Number of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Characteristic 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 2,869 2,934 3,152 3,123 3,168 3,233 3,389 3,450 3,414 3,232

Sex

Male 2,769 2,815 3,024 2,987 3,025 3,103 3,252 3,287 3,264 3,115

Female 100 119 126 136 143 130 137 163 150 117

Race/Hispanic origina

White 1,340 1,401 1,591 1,546 1,623 1,627 1,718 1,821 1,773 1,680

Black/African American 1,161 1,151 1,200 1,179 1,162 1,148 1,225 1,157 1,197 1,121

Hispanic/Latino 322 332 308 332 324 404 383 399 372 358

Otherb 46 44 44 65 54 50 54 73 58 61

Age

17 or younger 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 0 3

18–24 86 62 57 81 78 60 69 67 69 69

25–34 256 248 277 255 243 250 225 222 210 217

35–44 656 662 666 619 599 561 513 468 468 381

45–54 893 907 980 963 1,009 1,061 1,031 1,063 1,036 955

55 or older 971 1,053 1,164 1,202 1,237 1,299 1,550 1,627 1,630 1,607

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010.

Table 16

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Characteristic 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Sex

Male 96.5% 95.9% 96.0% 95.6% 95.5% 96.0% 96.0% 95.3% 95.6% 96.4%

Female 3.5 4.1 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.0 4.0 4.7 4.4 3.6

Race/Hispanic origina

White 46.7% 47.8% 50.6% 49.5% 51.3% 50.4% 50.8% 52.8% 52.1% 52.2%

Black/African American 40.5 39.3 38.2 37.8 36.7 35.6 36.2 33.5 35.2 34.8

Hispanic/Latino 11.2 11.3 9.8 10.6 10.2 12.5 11.3 11.6 10.9 11.1

Otherb 1.6 1.5 1.4 2.1 1.7 1.5 1.6 2.1 1.7 1.9

Age

17 or younger 0.1% --% 0.1% --% --% --% --% 0.1% --% 0.1%

18–24 3.0 2.1 1.8 2.6 2.5 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.1

25–34 8.9 8.5 8.8 8.2 7.7 7.7 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.7

35–44 22.9 22.6 21.2 19.8 18.9 17.4 15.1 13.6 13.7 11.8

45–54 31.2 30.9 31.1 30.9 31.9 32.8 30.4 30.8 30.4 29.5

55 or older 33.9 35.9 37.0 38.5 39.1 40.2 45.7 47.2 47.8 49.7

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

-- Less than 0.05%.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander,s and persons identifying two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 16

Table 17

Estimated number of state prisoners in custody at midyear, by selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Characteristic 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 1,187,800 1,199,900 1,225,700 1,239,700 1,252,400 1,297,200 1,321,700 1,327,000 1,326,500 1,320,600

Sex

Male 1,110,400 1,121,300 1,143,100 1,155,500 1,165,300 1,205,100 1,227,200 1,232,100 1,232,500 1,228,400

Female 77,400 78,700 82,600 84,200 87,100 92,200 94,500 94,900 94,000 92,200

Race/Hispanic origina

White 425,100 433,800 458,900 453,500 462,800 475,000 479,700 485,800 482,900 480,400

Black/African American 530,900 524,500 523,400 519,000 517,500 523,300 531,100 536,900 532,600 528,000

Hispanic/Latino 160,600 165,900 169,900 180,000 183,200 189,900 196,100 187,000 191,200 195,000

Otherb 27,400 29,000 30,000 30,900 31,600 33,700 34,600 34,600 36,100 35,600

Age

17 or younger 2,900 3,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,800 2,600 2,500 2,500 2,400

18–24 217,800 216,800 215,700 218,200 220,400 227,500 232,200 189,100 189,100 189,500

25–34 403,200 400,900 408,100 412,800 418,300 429,500 440,600 434,000 433,800 427,800

35–44 362,900 362,900 364,000 368,200 372,000 384,500 391,800 391,500 391,400 339,900

45–54 153,100 163,800 176,500 178,500 180,400 185,600 190,000 232,100 232,000 255,900

55 or older 47,900 52,600 57,600 58,300 58,900 60,400 62,000 77,800 77,800 105,100

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to 

missing data. The estimated number of state prisoners presented is rounded. Mortality rates based on this population (tables 19 and 24) are calculated on exact numbers. 

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2010.

Table 18

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Characteristic 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Total 242 245 257 252 253 249 256 260 257 245

Sex

Male 249 251 265 259 260 257 265 267 265 254

Female 129 151 153 162 164 141 145 172 160 127

Race/Hispanic origina

White 315 323 347 341 351 343 358 375 367 350

Black/African American 219 219 229 227 225 219 231 216 225 212

Hispanic/Latino 201 200 181 184 177 213 195 213 195 184

Otherb 168 151 147 211 171 148 156 211 161 171

Age

17 or younger 70 ! 33 ! 122 ! 40 ! 40 ! 36 ! 38 ! 122 ! 0 ! 127 !

18–24 39 29 26 37 35 26 30 35 36 36

25–34 63 62 68 62 58 58 51 51 48 51

35–44 181 182 183 168 161 146 131 120 120 112

45–54 583 554 555 539 559 572 543 458 446 373

55 or older 2,029 2,004 2,021 2,063 2,101 2,152 2,500 2,091 2,096 1,529

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to 

missing data. State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Prisoner demographic 

subgroup frequencies are estimated based on the June 30th National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody counts, demographic data from the National Corrections 

Reporting Program (NCRP), and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF). The mortality rates presented are calculated on exact population 

numbers. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. 

! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information. 

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010, National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2010, and Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities, 2004.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 17

Table 19

Number of state prisoner deaths, by state, 2001–2010

State 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All statesa 2,869 2,934 3,152 3,123 3,168 3,233 3,389 3,450 3,414 3,232

Alabama 87 85 92 65 66 61 54 75 80 66

Alaskab 8 14 4 8 4 6 10 14 7 13

Arizona 64 72 84 66 78 72 61 77 85 85

Arkansas 42 31 39 34 38 37 46 41 50 54

California 287 337 333 348 366 424 395 369 392 412

Colorado 42 51 47 39 54 31 42 38 49 48

Connecticutb 30 30 36 33 40 25 27 32 29 21

Delawareb 16 15 19 13 19 13 15 15 12 23

Florida 182 183 221 226 244 261 249 291 278 275

Georgia 93 102 126 90 122 103 143 128 125 112

Hawaiib 7 13 8 8 8 5 13 14 11 12

Idaho 17 9 12 12 13 18 14 18 13 13

Illinois 86 72 80 97 72 94 104 71 75 94

Indiana 46 49 56 56 45 70 54 70 91 69

Iowa 9 11 13 15 19 12 17 21 14 13

Kansas 21 22 32 30 19 16 20 24 20 22

Kentucky 36 41 45 42 43 46 46 68 57 42

Louisiana 71 78 70 94 89 72 82 117 108 100

Maine 6 7 2 4 0 6 1 2 4 3

Maryland 70 71 67 78 57 61 57 69 56 40

Massachusetts 29 20 30 25 37 39 39 29 29 39

Michigan 114 113 127 138 140 138 117 99 148 93

Minnesota 13 15 13 6 13 9 13 17 12 16

Mississippi 36 33 58 51 61 58 77 54 52 52

Missouri 57 65 65 77 68 66 78 87 81 88

Montana 6 5 12 12 12 5 5 9 3 2

Nebraska 7 8 7 7 8 8 12 6 11 12

Nevada 27 25 24 31 28 23 39 35 35 41

New Hampshire 2 9 6 6 8 6 6 5 9 4

New Jersey 69 60 47 57 60 70 60 66 58 56

New Mexico 11 15 11 16 18 13 22 29 21 16

New York 175 185 198 153 170 131 148 133 142 124

North Carolina 66 59 74 94 69 90 99 117 86 87

North Dakota 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1

Ohio 115 113 91 126 121 106 123 101 120 116

Oklahoma 51 64 71 53 74 80 98 88 79 60

Oregon 24 33 25 34 37 40 36 31 34 39

Pennsylvania 122 126 147 161 149 124 150 145 165 141

Rhode Islandb 3 8 8 7 2 8 9 6 7 7

South Carolina 69 45 63 50 75 65 72 83 49 70

South Dakota 4 11 11 5 4 4 8 6 4 8

Tennessee 51 61 97 71 76 84 73 74 69 74

Texas 408 396 383 395 351 443 435 469 426 375

Utah 5 9 10 11 8 7 7 11 17 13

Vermontb 3 3 5 1 6 7 1 3 3 5

Virginia 71 69 93 86 84 78 103 86 87 93

Washington 29 30 31 36 45 36 39 35 44 35

West Virginia 17 8 15 13 10 13 19 19 18 20

Wisconsin 48 49 41 40 29 45 43 44 42 25

Wyoming 5 3 2 2 8 3 8 9 7 3

Federal prisoners 301 335 346 333 388 328 368 399 376 387

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions.

aIncludes 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 federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. 

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010 for state data, and National Prisoner Statistics for federal data, 2001–2006; and 

federal Bureau of Prisons for federal data, 2007–2010. 
Table 20

Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by state, 2001–2010

State 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

All statesa 242 245 257 252 253 249 256 260 257 245

Alabama 365 318 333 261 257 251 222 302 316 241

Alaskab 192 ! 333 90 ! 179 ! 87 ! 123 ! 195 ! 269 135 ! 239

Arizona 236 247 275 212 240 202 165 199 211 210

Arkansas 378 266 343 269 302 293 349 310 377 388

California 178 213 207 213 223 242 224 218 226 247

Colorado 247 284 252 198 266 144 187 165 211 211

Connecticutb 167 157 187 175 210 128 135 155 146 109

Delawareb 225 220 280 192 275 183 205 208 174 350

Florida 253 249 286 276 287 295 268 297 276 269

Georgia 205 220 268 185 256 200 269 237 253 214

Hawaiib 137 ! 252 151 ! 146 ! 140 ! 86 ! 230 257 200 ! 226

Idaho 323 163 ! 214 204 212 278 193 242 189 187

Illinois 188 167 185 219 161 207 228 155 165 198

Indiana 237 245 265 256 197 293 215 269 336 255

Iowa 111 ! 135 ! 155 174 221 139 193 240 166 143

Kansas 246 251 354 327 210 179 225 277 232 248

Kentucky 313 337 354 336 324 298 301 450 372 290

Louisiana 364 394 354 480 454 354 393 559 527 500

Maine 355 ! 385 ! 102 ! 201 ! 0 296 ! 47 ! 92 ! 197 ! 157 !

Maryland 293 293 278 328 246 265 249 299 244 179

Massachusetts 278 199 298 249 364 365 352 256 255 347

Michigan 236 226 256 284 286 272 231 196 314 204

Minnesota 208 223 178 77 ! 155 100 ! 144 193 130 170

Mississippi 242 214 365 322 370 354 454 305 297 309

Missouri 202 218 215 256 219 219 261 290 266 290

Montana 227 ! 171 ! 420 490 451 172 ! 172 ! 298 ! 97 ! 65 !

Nebraska 181 ! 200 ! 169 ! 173 ! 186 ! 176 ! 269 134 ! 242 ! 259

Nevada 271 248 236 280 251 185 299 269 275 330

New Hampshire 86 ! 363 ! 242 ! 247 ! 326 ! 216 ! 205 ! 173 ! 316 ! 136 !

New Jersey 241 208 179 217 228 239 208 261 238 229

New Mexico 191 ! 252 179 ! 252 274 191 337 458 324 237

New York 252 275 300 236 269 206 232 214 238 217

North Carolina 208 178 220 267 188 239 256 298 211 217

North Dakota 296 ! 87 ! 88 ! 82 ! 74 ! 72 ! 0 0 0 83 !

Ohio 254 252 200 285 273 226 248 201 235 228

Oklahoma 232 288 326 235 322 347 415 368 330 245

Oregon 226 291 210 268 290 306 269 230 247 281

Pennsylvania 333 321 363 401 363 291 333 317 331 294

Rhode Islandb 90 ! 221 ! 226 ! 200 ! 59 ! 219 ! 236 ! 154 ! 189 ! 209 !

South Carolina 322 203 270 214 325 284 308 339 201 288

South Dakota 150 ! 373 ! 363 ! 158 ! 118 ! 111 ! 237 ! 180 ! 117 ! 234 !

Tennessee 290 343 501 365 391 433 377 379 354 366

Texas 278 268 247 253 224 280 274 293 268 236

Utah 121 ! 219 ! 227 ! 242 ! 168 ! 141 ! 138 ! 213 ! 329 244

Vermontb 216 ! 218 ! 349 ! 49 ! 304 ! 327 ! 46 ! 144 ! 136 ! 232 !

Virginia 231 223 299 277 271 251 324 253 266 292

Washington 189 187 192 212 272 209 214 193 254 203

West Virginia 489 225 ! 392 326 252 ! 304 409 383 360 393

Wisconsin 241 240 188 181 133 202 188 196 189 112

Wyoming 329 ! 191 ! 126 ! 115 ! 407 ! 148 ! 399 ! 537 ! 400 ! 144 !

Federal prisoners 220 232 227 208 233 192 211 229 181 179

Note: State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Federal prison mortality rates are per 

100,000 inmates in custody on December 31st of each year. Deaths in federal prisons are not included in the calculations of rates across all states. The state-specific 

population frequencies used in these calculations are the latest available and may not reflect updates that have been made to the total number of state prison inmates. 

Mortality rates between states are not directly comparable because rates are not adjusted for specific characteristics. 

! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information. 

aIncludes nine prisoner deaths reported by the District of Columbia in 2001. Sentenced District of Columbia felons became the responsibility of the federal Bureau of 

Prisons (BOP) in 2002. 

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. 

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2010. 
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 19

Table 21

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Illness

Characteristic

Heart 

disease Cancer

Liver 

disease

Respiratory 

diseases AIDS

All other 

illnesses Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Total 8,415 7,833 2,442 2,025 1,540 6,086 1,994 398 290 515

Sex

Male 8,234 7,500 2,318 1,921 1,460 5,739 1,893 384 278 511

Female 181 333 124 104 80 347 100 14 12 4

Race/Hispanic origina

White 4,428 4,195 1,299 1,101 318 2,800 1,158 231 157 234

Black/African American 3,194 2,827 607 711 1,040 2,384 419 72 89 176

Hispanic/Latino 685 661 473 189 169 792 330 79 35 88

Otherb 101 129 60 21 12 97 80 16 8 15

Age

17 or younger 1 0 1 1 0 2 9 0 1 1

18–24 80 43 8 45 16 93 288 24 22 64

25–34 408 200 54 139 204 368 656 111 64 144

35–44 1,296 882 381 276 661 1,070 571 146 74 149

45–54 2,366 2,498 1,226 484 512 2,088 341 88 72 106

55 or older 4,262 4,206 772 1,078 147 2,460 129 29 57 51

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data. 

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010. 

Table 22

Percent of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Illness

Characteristic

Heart 

disease Cancer

Liver 

disease

Respiratory 

diseases AIDS

All other 

illnesses Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Sex

Male 97.8% 95.7% 94.9% 94.9% 94.9% 95.0% 94.9% 96.5% 95.9% 99.2%

Female 2.2 4.3 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.7 5.0 3.5 4.1 0.8

Race/Hispanic origina

White 52.7% 53.7% 53.3% 54.5% 20.7% 46.1% 58.3% 58.0% 54.3% 45.6%

Black/African American 38.0 36.2 24.9 35.2 67.6 39.3 21.1 18.1 30.8 34.3

Hispanic/Latino 8.1 8.5 19.4 9.3 11.0 13.0 16.6 19.8 12.1 17.2

Otherb 1.2 1.7 2.5 1.0 0.8 1.6 4.0 4.0 2.8 2.9

Age

17 or younger --% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 0.0% 0.3% 0.2%

18–24 1.0 0.5 0.3 2.2 1.0 1.5 14.4 6.0 7.6 12.4

25–34 4.8 2.6 2.2 6.9 13.2 6.1 32.9 27.9 22.1 28.0

35–44 15.4 11.3 15.6 13.6 42.9 17.6 28.6 36.7 25.5 28.9

45–54 28.1 31.9 50.2 23.9 33.2 34.3 17.1 22.1 24.8 20.6

55 or older 50.7 53.7 31.6 53.3 9.5 40.5 6.5 7.3 19.7 9.9

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to 

missing data. 

-- Less than 0.05%.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 20

Table 23

Average mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and selected characteristics, 2001–2010

Illness

Characteristic

Heart 

disease Cancer

Liver 

disease

Respiratory 

diseases AIDS

All other 

illnesses Suicide

Drug/alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Total 66 62 19 16 12 48 16 3 2 4

Sex

Male 70 63 20 16 12 49 16 3 2 4

Female 21 38 14 12 9 40 11 2 1 -- !

Race/Hispanic origina

White 95 90 28 24 7 60 25 5 3 5

Black/African American 61 54 12 13 20 45 8 1 2 3

Hispanic/Latino 38 36 26 10 9 44 18 4 2 5

Otherb 31 40 19 6 4 30 25 5 2 ! 5

Age

17 or younger 4 ! 0 ! 4 ! 4 ! 0 ! 8 ! 35 ! 0 ! 4 ! 4 !

18–24 4 2 -- ! 2 1 4 14 1 1 3

25–34 10 5 1 3 5 9 16 3 2 3

35–44 35 24 10 7 18 29 15 4 2 4

45–54 121 128 63 25 26 107 18 5 4 5

55 or older 647 639 117 164 22 374 20 4 9 8

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to 

missing data. State prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Prisoner demographic 

subgroup frequencies are estimated based on the June 30th National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) custody counts, demographic data from the National Corrections 

Reporting Program (NCRP), and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF). The mortality rates presented are calculated on exact population 

numbers. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. 

-- Less than 0.5.

! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.

aExcludes persons of Hispanic/Latino origin unless specified. 

bIncludes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islanders, and persons identifying two or more races.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010; National Prisoner Statistics; Prisoners at Midyear series, 2001–2006; Survey of 

Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 2004.
Table 24

Number of state prisoner deaths, by cause of death and state, 2001–2010

Illness

State All causes

Heart 

disease Cancer

Liver 

disease

Respiratory 

diseases AIDS

All other 

illnesses Suicide

Drug/ alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/ 

unknown Missing

All statesa 31,964 8,415 7,833 2,442 2,025 1,540 6,086 1,994 398 290 515 232 194

Alabama 731 169 169 60 40 32 172 12 1 7 8 43 18

Alaskab 88 19 9 6 2 0 18 16 6 7 2 1 2

Arizona 744 168 190 95 51 19 119 61 18 2 18 1 2

Arkansas 412 133 107 16 28 21 63 25 1 7 9 2 0

California 3,663 658 843 362 252 108 796 326 127 25 131 22 13

Colorado 441 87 80 61 40 0 100 36 16 10 11 0 0

Connecticutb 303 75 38 46 14 6 71 46 2 3 2 0 0

Delawareb 160 38 29 7 9 18 32 17 1 0 2 1 6

Florida 2,410 499 689 150 168 232 523 68 7 18 34 11 11

Georgia 1,144 383 296 73 81 69 140 57 1 9 25 4 6

Hawaiib 99 19 23 11 3 2 19 16 0 1 4 0 1

Idaho 139 41 38 5 8 1 22 18 0 1 2 1 2

Illinois 845 250 226 45 44 58 116 76 7 9 9 3 2

Indiana 606 178 138 46 39 16 102 40 16 10 15 4 2

Iowa 144 32 49 5 12 3 22 18 0 0 1 1 1

Kansas 226 52 63 21 11 1 55 13 2 5 2 1 0

Kentucky 466 157 134 29 21 24 84 11 1 3 1 0 1

Louisiana 881 224 227 52 28 83 190 15 0 5 4 20 33

Maine 35 12 8 4 1 1 5 2 1 0 1 0 0

Maryland 626 140 118 30 25 94 90 50 46 4 22 6 1

Massachusetts 316 92 75 18 18 7 52 33 9 4 1 5 2

Michigan 1,227 447 334 54 62 33 182 70 11 17 8 1 8

Minnesota 127 22 37 11 3 1 34 16 2 1 0 0 0

Mississippi 532 221 126 22 28 17 79 21 3 8 6 1 0

Missouri 732 221 187 83 41 18 120 39 4 5 11 1 2

Montana 71 13 18 12 3 0 13 9 1 1 1 0 0

Nebraska 86 20 16 9 3 2 17 3 3 2 0 4 7

Nevada 308 74 60 15 8 9 81 17 1 2 6 10 25

New Hampshire 61 13 18 5 2 2 11 8 2 0 0 0 0

New Jersey 603 162 134 26 40 74 101 34 8 5 8 5 6

New Mexico 172 31 44 15 18 2 37 16 3 1 5 0 0

New York 1,559 413 374 72 77 187 243 127 14 19 13 16 4

North Carolina 841 221 253 65 66 48 133 27 2 15 9 1 1

North Dakota 9 3 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0

Ohio 1,132 350 343 59 84 27 185 59 1 5 13 4 2

Oklahoma 718 180 173 70 53 18 113 36 15 11 33 12 4

Oregon 333 71 93 38 14 4 69 23 10 5 2 4 0

Pennsylvania 1,430 423 349 132 78 30 318 66 6 8 8 1 11

Rhode Islandb 65 14 11 1 1 3 7 15 3 3 1 4 2

South Carolina 641 248 106 36 41 33 128 26 1 1 19 1 1

South Dakota 65 24 5 6 5 1 10 9 0 3 2 0 0

Tennessee 730 222 163 47 43 36 146 31 13 6 17 2 4

Texas 4,081 1,059 877 376 335 124 966 248 15 28 34 16 3

Utah 98 20 14 5 6 0 21 23 3 1 2 2 1

Vermontb 37 8 8 6 1 4 1 5 3 0 0 0 1

Virginia 850 223 273 66 51 46 123 32 1 3 7 18 7

Washington 360 92 97 41 22 9 62 20 3 6 5 3 0

West Virginia 152 63 46 3 7 5 23 3 1 0 1 0 0

Wisconsin 406 113 116 20 31 10 57 50 4 3 0 0 2

Wyoming 50 16 7 3 6 1 11 4 1 1 0 0 0

Federal 

prisoners 3,561 ... ... ... ... 146 3,101 148 73 1 58 28 6

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to missing 

data. 

... Not available. With the exception of AIDS-related deaths, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not break out illness deaths by a specific cause of death (e.g., cancer and liver disease). 

aIncludes 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 

federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison population.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2006; and the federal Bureau of Prisons, 2007–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 22

Table 25

Average mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners, by cause of death and state, 2001–2010

Illness

State All causes

Heart 

disease Cancer

Liver 

disease

Respiratory 

diseases AIDS

All other 

illnesses Suicide

Drug/ alcohol 

intoxication Accident Homicide

Other/ 

unknown Missing

All statesa 252 66 62 19 16 12 48 16 3 2 4 2 2

Alabama 287 66 66 24 16 13 67 5 -- ! 3 ! 3 ! 17 7

Alaskab 185 40 19 ! 13 ! 4 ! 0 38 34 13 ! 15 ! 4 ! 2 ! 4 !

Arizona 217 49 55 28 15 6 35 18 5 1 ! 5 -- ! 1 !

Arkansas 328 106 85 13 22 17 50 20 1 ! 6 ! 7 ! 2 ! 0

California 219 39 50 22 15 6 48 20 8 1 8 1 1

Colorado 213 42 39 30 19 0 48 17 8 5 ! 5 ! 0 0

Connecticutb 156 39 20 24 7 3 ! 37 24 1 ! 2 ! 1 ! 0 0

Delawareb 230 55 42 10 ! 13 ! 26 46 24 1 ! 0 3 ! 1 ! 9 !

Florida 276 57 79 17 19 27 60 8 1 ! 2 4 1 ! 1 !

Georgia 231 77 60 15 16 14 28 12 -- ! 2 ! 5 1 ! 1 !

Hawaiib 182 35 42 20 ! 6 ! 4 ! 35 29 0 2 ! 7 ! 0 2 !

Idaho 219 65 60 8 ! 13 ! 2 ! 35 28 0 2 ! 3 ! 2 ! 3 !

Illinois 187 55 50 10 10 13 26 17 2 ! 2 ! 2 ! 1 ! -- !

Indiana 258 76 59 20 17 7 43 17 7 4 ! 6 2 ! 1 !

Iowa 168 37 57 6 ! 14 4 ! 26 21 0 0 1 ! 1 ! 1 !

Kansas 255 59 71 24 12 ! 1 ! 62 15 2 ! 6 ! 2 ! 1 ! 0

Kentucky 338 114 97 21 15 17 61 8 ! 1 ! 2 ! 1 ! 0 1 !

Louisiana 439 111 113 26 14 41 95 7 0 2 ! 2 ! 10 16

Maine 177 61 40 ! 20 ! 5 ! 5 ! 25 ! 10 ! 5 ! 0 5 ! 0 0

Maryland 268 60 51 13 11 40 39 21 20 2 ! 9 3 ! -- !

Massachusetts 297 86 70 17 17 7 ! 49 31 8 ! 4 ! 1 ! 5 ! 2 !

Michigan 250 91 68 11 13 7 37 14 2 ! 3 2 ! -- ! 2 !

Minnesota 155 27 45 13 ! 4 ! 1 ! 41 20 2 ! 1 ! 0 0 0

Mississippi 325 135 77 13 17 10 48 13 2 ! 5 ! 4 ! 1 ! 0

Missouri 244 74 62 28 14 6 40 13 1 ! 2 ! 4 ! -- ! 1 !

Montana 249 46 63 42 11 ! 0 46 32 ! 4 ! 4 ! 4 ! 0 0

Nebraska 200 46 37 21 ! 7 ! 5 ! 39 7 ! 7 ! 5 ! 0 ! 9 ! 16 !

Nevada 266 64 52 13 7 ! 8 ! 70 15 1 ! 2 ! 5 ! 9 ! 22

New Hampshire 229 49 68 19 ! 8 ! 8 ! 41 ! 30 ! 8 ! 0 0 ! 0 0

New Jersey 225 60 50 10 15 28 38 13 3 ! 2 ! 3 ! 2 ! 2 !

New Mexico 270 49 69 24 28 3 ! 58 25 5 ! 2 ! 8 ! 0 0

New York 245 65 59 11 12 29 38 20 2 3 2 3 1 !

North Carolina 229 60 69 18 18 13 36 7 1 ! 4 2 ! -- ! -- !

North Dakota 72 ! 24 ! 16 ! 8 ! 0 0 16 ! 8 ! 0 0 0 ! 0 0 !

Ohio 239 74 73 12 18 6 39 12 -- ! 1 ! 3 1 ! -- !

Oklahoma 311 78 75 30 23 8 49 16 7 5 ! 14 5 2 !

Oregon 262 56 73 30 11 3 ! 54 18 8 ! 4 ! 2 ! 3 ! 0 !

Pennsylvania 333 99 81 31 18 7 74 15 1 ! 2 ! 2 ! -- ! 3 !

Rhode Islandb 182 39 31 ! 3 ! 3 ! 8 ! 20 ! 42 8 ! 8 ! 3 ! 11 ! 6 !

South Carolina 275 106 46 15 18 14 55 11 -- ! -- ! 8 -- ! -- !

South Dakota 201 74 15 ! 19 ! 15 ! 3 ! 31 ! 28 ! 0 9 ! 6 ! 0 0

Tennessee 381 116 85 25 22 19 76 16 7 3 ! 9 1 ! 2 !

Texas 262 68 56 24 22 8 62 16 1 2 2 1 -- !

Utah 206 42 29 10 ! 13 ! 0 44 48 6 ! 2 ! 4 ! 4 ! 2 !

Vermontb 195 42 ! 42 ! 32 ! 5 ! 21 ! 5 ! 26 ! 16 ! 0 0 0 5 !

Virginia 269 70 86 21 16 15 39 10 -- ! 1 ! 2 ! 6 2 !

Washington 213 54 57 24 13 5 ! 37 12 2 ! 4 ! 3 ! 2 ! 0

West Virginia 355 147 108 7 ! 16 ! 12 ! 54 7 ! 2 ! 0 2 ! 0 0

Wisconsin 186 52 53 9 14 5 ! 26 23 2 ! 1 ! 0 0 1 !

Wyoming 279 89 39 ! 17 ! 33 ! 6 ! 61 ! 22 ! 6 ! 6 ! 0 0 0

Federal prisoners 213 ... ... ... ... 9 185 9 5 ... 3 2 2

Note: Data may have been revised from previously published statistics to reflect updated information. Excludes data on executions. Detail may not sum to total due to missing data.State 

prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in state custody (including private facilities) on June 30th of each year. Federal prison mortality rates are per 100,000 inmates held in 

federal custody on December 31st of each year. Deaths in federal prisons are not included in the calculation of rates across all states. The state-specific population frequencies used in these 

calculations are the latest available, and may not reflect updates that have been made to the total number of state prison inmates. The mortality rates presented are not adjusted for age, sex, 

race, geographic location, or any other characteristic. 

... Not available. With the exception of AIDS-related deaths, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) did not break out illness deaths by a specific cause of death (e.g., cancer and liver disease).

! Interpret with caution; too few cases to provide a reliable rate. See Methodology for more information.

aIncludes 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 federal 

Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. 

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, 2001–2010, and National Prisoner Statistics, 2001–2006; and the federal Bureau of Prisons, 2007–2010.
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 23

Methodology

Data collection coverage

The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) is 

an annual data collection conducted by the Bureau of 

Justice Statistics (BJS). The DCRP collects national, state, 

and incident-level data on persons who died while in the 

physical custody of the 50 state departments of corrections 

or the roughly 3,000 local adult jail jurisdictions nationwide. 

The DCRP began in 2000 under the Death in Custody 

Reporting Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-297), and it is the only 

national statistical collection to obtain comprehensive 

information about deaths in adult correctional facilities. BJS 

uses DCRP data to track national trends in the number and 

causes (or manners) of deaths occurring in state prison or 

local jail custody.

Mortality data measured by the DCRP include decedent 

characteristics, such as sex, race and ethnicity, age, date of 

admission, conviction status, admission offense, and the 

location and type of facility (prison or jail) where the inmate 

died. The DCRP also collects data about circumstances 

surrounding the death, including the cause, time and 

location death occurred, and information on whether an 

autopsy was conducted and the availability of results to the 

respondent. In cases of deaths due to illness, the DCRP 

collects data on whether the decedent had a pre-existing 

medical condition for which he or she received medical 

treatment prior to death. Data on executions are excluded 

from this report but are accessible on the BJS website 

along with the DCRP mortality data. Statistics presented 

in this report are current as of September 1, 2012. For 

more information on mortality in correctional settings, 

see Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2007, BJS website, NCJ 

222988, July 2010; Medical Causes of Death in State Prisons, 

2001–2004, BJS website, NCJ 216340, January 2007; and 

Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails, BJS 

website, NCJ 210036, August 2005.

The DCRP data collection instruments are administered 

annually to both state prisons and local jails. Respondents 

provide an aggregate count of the number of deaths that 

occurred during the referenced calendar year. State prison 

respondents provide counts through the National Prisoner 

Statistics data collection, and local jails provide aggregate 

counts through the Annual Survey of Jails. The jail (CJ-9) 

and prison (NPS-4A) survey instruments used to obtain 

data on each prison and jail death are available on the BJS 

website. 

In addition to the death count, BJS requests that jails 

provide summary statistics about their population and 

admissions. All jails, including those with no deaths to 

report, which includes about 80% of jails in any given 

year, are asked to complete the annual summary survey 

form. BJS obtains a separate report describing decedent 

characteristics and the circumstances surrounding the death 

for each death occurring in a state prison or local jail. State 

prison and local jail respondents can submit individual 

records on decedents at any time during a collection cycle 

through a BJS web-based collection system, accessible at 

https://bjsdcrp.rti.org/.

BJS has modified the survey instruments slightly over time, 

including changes to clarify questions and respondent 

burden. Several questions were added to capture any 

medical treatment received by the inmate prior to death. 

Changes also allowed respondents to elaborate on cause 

of death by adding text boxes to the intoxication, suicide, 

and inmate-involved homicide death questions. These 

fields had previously only been available for deaths due to 

illness, accident, homicides not caused by other inmates, 

and other unspecified causes. In addition, BJS clarified 

respondent instructions on the prison forms and removed a 

question collecting the conviction status of an inmate after 

an analysis showed that more than 99% of prison inmates 

were convicted at the time of death. BJS also streamlined the 

survey layout to simplify the progression through questions 

related to autopsies. Rather than initially submitting an 

incomplete instrument that indicated pending autopsy 

results, respondents were permitted to complete the entire 

survey only after autopsy results were available. This change 

reduced follow-up contact and respondent burden. 

Starting in 2001, and annually thereafter, BJS has collected 

DCRP data directly from state prison systems, maintaining a 

100% response rate. 

The jail universe includes all jails currently operating 

and jails that have been contacted for the DCRP but have 

closed, consolidated, or otherwise eliminated operations. 

This universe allows BJS to determine jail participation in 

the DCRP. The most recent jail universe, constructed in 

2012, identified 2,821 jurisdictions, representing 3,236 jail 

facilities. Of these, 2,753 (97.6%) participated in the DCRP, 

a slight decrease from the 98% to 99% participation in 

previous years. 

A jail jurisdiction is a legal entity that has responsibility 

for managing jail facilities. Jail jurisdictions typically 

operate at the county level, in which a sheriff ’s office or 

jail administrator manages the local facilities. The DCRP 

data identify the jail facility in which a jail inmate dies, 

but the data are arrayed at the jail jurisdiction level. BJS 

defines a jail as a locally operated correctional facility that 

confines persons before or after adjudication for more than 

72 hours, excluding temporary lockups. Typically, there is 

one facility per jail jurisdiction, but the 2006 Census of Jail 

Facilities found that 15% of jail jurisdictions had multiple 

facilities under a central authority (see BJS website for more 

information).
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 24

Determining eligibility for reporting to DCRP

In the DCRP, the term “custody” refers to the holding of 

an inmate in a facility or to the period during which a 

correctional authority maintains a chain of custody over 

an inmate. For instance, if a jail transports an ill inmate to 

a hospital for medical services and that inmate dies while 

in the chain of custody of the jail, that death is counted as a 

death in custody. A death that occurs when an inmate is not 

in the custody of correctional authority is considered beyond 

the scope of DCRP. Out-of-scope deaths include inmates 

on escape status or under the supervision of community 

corrections on probation, parole, or home-electronic 

monitoring. 

BJS instructs both state prison and local jail officials to 

determine whether the inmate was in the physical custody of 

the jurisdiction at the time of death, regardless of the reason 

an inmate was being held. For state prisons responding 

to the survey, inmates in physical custody include those 

held in any private prison facility under contract to the 

responding state’s department of corrections or in any of 

their state-operated facilities, including halfway houses, 

prison camps or farms, training or treatment centers, and 

prison hospitals. 

BJS instructs state prison officials to exclude deaths of 

inmates who were transferred to local jails while still serving 

a prison term because the DCRP obtains information about 

such deaths through the jail reports. Jail inmate custody 

includes inmates who are temporarily out of the jail facility 

but are within the chain of custody of the jail. For example, 

a death in custody would include jail inmates who died after 

being transferred to an offsite facility that cares for critically 

ill persons. Between 2000 and 2010, the DCRP data show 

that more than a third (41%) of jail inmate deaths occurred 

in medical facilities outside of the jail facility. 

Custody is further complicated by the dual law enforcement 

and jail administration functions of some sheriffs’ offices. 

As a result, some deaths reported as jail deaths actually 

occurred before the jail had custody of the decedent. BJS 

identifies and excludes from DCRP these deaths that 

occurred in the process of arrest by using information about 

the circumstances surrounding the death. 

Identifying and excluding duplicate records 

Duplicate death records may occur in the DCRP due to 

overlapping correctional populations as well as overlapping 

duties within correctional facilities. For example, a jail 

jurisdiction may have more than one unit responsible for 

reporting data to BJS, or a jail may be holding a state prison 

inmate. Multiple entities may report the same death, or 

state prison systems may report on the death of an inmate 

who was transferred to a local jail but was serving a prison 

sentence at the time. 

To identify duplicate death records, BJS reconciles the 

aggregate summary counts of deaths occurring during a 

calendar year with the number of individual death records 

obtained from a reporting jurisdiction. When discrepancies 

are found, BJS contacts reporting jurisdictions to clarify 

matters. However, even if summary counts and individual 

reports are reconciled, there may be duplicates if multiple 

reporting units within a jurisdiction provide reconciled data. 

Duplicate records occur primarily in reports from jail 

jurisdictions that have multiple reporting entities. To identify 

duplicate records, BJS performs record-matching based on 

inmate name and date of birth, date of death, and date of 

admission into a correctional facility. After the aggregate 

count review, BJS searches for deaths reported to both the 

jail and prison DCRP collections, which most commonly 

occur when a local jail is housing an inmate for the state 

department of corrections. The death is considered part of 

the count of the facility that had custody of the inmate at the 

time of death, and the duplicate record is deleted. 

Overall, BJS’ review of death records between 2000 and 

2010 found 108 jail and 346 prison deaths to be duplicates 

or beyond the scope of the DCRP. This results in error 

rates of 0.0099 for jails and 0.0108 for prisons. Duplicate 

and out-of-scope records are excluded from the analyses 

presented by BJS. 

Cause of death information

The DCRP instructs respondents to report death 

information as determined by an autopsy or other official 

medical death investigation. For this collection, intoxication 

deaths, accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides are 

considered discrete causes of death. While there is a 

distinction between manner and cause of death from a 

medico-legal standpoint, no such distinction is made in 

the DCRP. When reporting a death due to illness, accident, 

suicide, intoxication, or homicide, BJS requests that 

respondents describe the events surrounding these deaths. 

Illness death descriptions are later converted by clinical 

data specialists into standard medical codes according to 

the World Health Organization’s International Statistical 

Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth 

Revision (ICD-10).

Other BJS sources of correctional mortality data

BJS collects other data reported to the DCRP on correctional 

mortality and deaths that occur in the process of arrest. 

These other collections include—

 Capital Punishment, which provides data on legal 

executions. Further discussion on executions is accessible 

on the BJS website.

 National Prisoner Statistics (NPS), which annually 

collected aggregate counts of deaths in state and federal 

prisons prior to the establishment of the DCRP. Prior to 
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 25

2007, the NPS also collected counts of deaths by cause of 

death, including deaths due to execution, illness, AIDS, 

suicide, accident, homicide, and other causes. After 2006, 

the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) continued to submit 

counts of deaths by cause of death using the DCRP, but no 

longer provided counts of deaths using the NPS. Further 

discussion of the NPS is accessible on the BJS website.

 The Census of Jail Inmates, conducted every 5 to 6 years, 

provides counts of inmate deaths in local jails. Further 

discussion of the Census of Jail Inmates is accessible on 

the BJS website.

 The Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC), which 

provides aggregate counts of the number of deaths 

occurring in all known Indian country correctional 

facilities operated by tribal authorities or the U.S. 

Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. Further 

discussion of the SJIC is accessible on the BJS website.

 Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD), which obtains data on 

deaths that occurred during the process of arrest. Statelevel respondents provide details of deaths that occurred 

during arrest. Further discussion of ARD is accessible on 

the BJS website.

Reported statistics 

Mortality data are shown in statistical tables by type of 

correctional institution (state prisons and local jails) and 

include the number of deaths and mortality rates by year, 

cause of death, selected decedent characteristics, and state. 

Mortality rates are calculated per 100,000 inmates, with the 

denominators providing estimates of the number of personyears of exposure in custody in institutional corrections. 

The mortality rate for state prisons is calculated as the 

number of deaths per year divided by the midyear state 

prison population in custody multiplied by 100,000. Midyear 

custody counts for state prisons provide estimates of personyears for prison populations. BJS uses data from the NPS to 

provide midyear custody counts of prisoners. 

The mortality rate in local jails is calculated as the number 

of deaths per year divided by the average daily jail inmate 

population (ADP) multiplied by 100,000. The ADP for local 

jails is defined as the average daily number of jail inmates 

held in a jail jurisdiction during a calendar year, from 

January 1 through December 31. 

The ADP is used as the denominator for jail mortality rates 

to accommodate the high turnover and daily fluctuation 

in local jail populations. Also, the ADP better reflects the 

number of inmate days per year than a one-day count. Jail 

populations have a higher turnover than prison populations; 

mean stay in local jails is about 21 days as compared to 2 

years for state prisons. 

The jail ADP also reflects the annual number of admissions 

and mean length of stay, and can be expressed as the product 

of these two values. When mean length of stay is expressed 

in years, the ADP is equivalent to the number of personyears spent by jail inmates during a given year. BJS obtains 

the jail ADP data directly from jails through the DCRP 

(using the summary form, CJ-9A). Starting in 2002, BJS 

collected the ADP directly from respondents. Prior to 2002, 

BJS calculated the jail ADP by taking the average of the 

January 1 count from the prior year and the December 31 

count from the reference year, which is an appropriate proxy 

measure for ADP.

Both denominators provide for annualizing mortality rates, 

which are calculated separately by group or characteristic. 

The annualized mortality rates in state prisons and local jails 

are comparable to annual crude mortality rates reported by 

the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). 

NCHS calculates crude mortality rates as the number of 

events for a period (e.g., a year) divided by the population 

estimate at the midpoint of the period. For general 

population mortality statistics, NCHS employs the midyear 

population as an approximation to the average population 

exposed to risk of death during any given year. For more 

information, see Siegal, J. & Swanson, D. (2004). The 

Methods and Materials of Demography, Second Edition. San 

Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press, 269.

The crude mortality rates reported in the DCRP annual 

statistical tables are not directly comparable to the crude 

mortality rates within the (nonincarcerated) general 

population, and the crude mortality rates in state prisons 

are not directly comparable to those of local jails. The 

composition of the general population (age, sex, and race) 

differs from population in state prisons and local jails. 

Because mortality is correlated with age, race, and sex, the 

crude mortality rates in state prisons, local jails, and the 

general population should not be compared.

Individual inmate death records collected annually in 

the death file are included in the national death count. 

Independent jail-specific summary death counts are 

collected on the annual summary form (CJ-9A) and serve 

as control death totals. If the death count in the summary 

form file is greater than the count in the individual inmate 

death file, the summary file count is used as the total count 

in calculating a jail mortality rate. For year 2010, individual 

records for jail inmate deaths were adjusted to match 

independent counts of deaths occurring in each jail and the 

mortality rates were adjusted accordingly.

Estimating inmate population characteristics for use in 

calculating mortality rates by demographic subgroups

BJS does not obtain annual data for all demographic 

characteristics of prison and jail inmates in all jurisdictions. 

BJS uses data from sources other than the DCRP to estimate 
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 26

the nationwide age, race, and sex composition of state 

prison and local jail inmate populations. These data sources 

consist primarily of periodic surveys of inmates in custody 

in prisons and jails. The inmate characteristic distributions 

obtained from these surveys are applied to denominators 

(counts of inmates or ADP) to estimate the number of 

inmates in each demographic subgroup. 

BJS estimated the demographic distribution of the state 

prison population data from the National Prisoner Statistics 

(NPS) and National Corrections Reporting Program 

(NCRP) collections. For a discussion on the methodology 

for obtaining estimates of the age, race, and sex distributions 

of state prisoners, see Prisoners in 2010 on the BJS website.

Prior to BJS using NPS and NCRP to estimate demographic 

distributions, reports of mortality rates for state prison 

inmates used demographic distributions derived from BJS’ 

2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional 

Facilities (SISCF). Consequently, the state prison mortality 

rates shown in these tables may differ from previously 

published rates. A rate comparison between the two sources 

showed very little difference in the resultant mortality 

rates. In most instances, the rates either matched or 

nearly matched. In only three instances did the rates differ 

(Hispanic in 2001; females and inmates ages 55 or older in 

2002). In each instance, the rates calculated using population 

data from the NCRP and NPS were slightly higher (less than 

a 1% increase) than rates calculated using population data 

from the SISCF.

To estimate the distributions of demographic attributes of 

the ADP for inmates, BJS used data from several surveys to 

generate distributions of age, sex, and race, and applied these 

distributions to the ADP. BJS’ Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ) 

provided estimates of the sex distribution of inmates for 

each year of the DCRP collection and applied these to each 

year’s ADP from the DCRP to estimate the average daily 

population of male and female jail inmates. The Jail Inmates 

at Midyear 2010 report documents that the distributions of 

inmate characteristics have changed slowly over time. For 

the most recent information on the ASJ, see the BJS website.

To estimate the race and ethnic distribution of adult jail 

inmates, BJS used data from the Survey of Inmates in 

Local Jails (SILJ) and the National Inmate Survey (NIS) 

to estimate the relative distribution of adults by race and 

ethnic category for different periods. The SILJ estimates were 

used to cover the period from 2000 to 2004 and the NIS 

estimates were used to cover the period from 2005 to 2010. 

In both cases, the percentages associated with each race and 

ethnic category were applied to the adult jail average daily 

population.

BJS did not annually collect data on the age distribution of 

jail populations. Rather, BJS obtained estimates of the age 

distribution of jail inmates from periodic surveys of jail 

inmates, including the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails 

(SILJ) and the National Inmate Survey (NIS) from 2007 

through 2009, which are accessible on the BJS website. For 

more information about jail inmates in 2002, see Profile of 

Jail Inmates on the BJS website. 

To estimate the age distribution of the jail inmate 

population, BJS first obtained an estimate of the number of 

jail inmates under 18 years of age from the Annual Survey 

of Jails (ASJ). According to Jail Inmates at Midyear 2010 

(table 6), annually from 2000 through 2010, the number of 

jail inmates under age 18 ranged between 6,100 and 7,615. 

By applying the annual percentage of jail inmates under age 

18 to the annual average daily jail inmate population, we 

obtained an estimate of the average daily population of jail 

inmates under age 18. 

To estimate the age distribution of adult jail inmates, BJS 

used data from the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ) 

and the National Inmate Survey (NIS) to estimate the 

relative distribution of adults by age category for different 

periods. We used the SILJ estimates to cover the period 

from 2000 to 2006 and the NIS estimates to cover the period 

from 2007 to 2009. In both cases, we applied the percentages 

associated with each age category to the adult jail average 

daily population.

Random error and suppression 

The DCRP data on deaths in state prisons and local jails are 

not subject to sampling error. However, mortality data from 

a complete or near complete enumeration may be subject 

to random error. Following the methodology of Brillinger 

and NCHS, “the number of deaths that actually occurred 

may be considered as one of a large series of possible results 

that could have arisen under the same set of circumstances” 

(NCHS, 2007). The random variation can be large when 

the number of deaths is small; hence considerable caution 

is warranted when interpreting statistics based on small 

numbers of deaths. According to NCHS standards, mortality 

rates based on fewer than 100 deaths per year should be 

interpreted with caution. For more information on vital 

rates, see Brillinger, D. R. (1986). The natural variability of 

vital rates and associated statistics. Biometrics 42:693-734. 

See also the National Vital Statistics Reports. Deaths: Final 

Data for 2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), retrieved from 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf.

Continuing to use NCHS and Brillinger methods, we 

quantify random variation by assuming that the appropriate 

underlying distribution is a Poisson probability distribution. 

This provides for a computationally simple, as well as 

reasonable, approach to estimate variances for mortality 

statistics when the probability of dying is low. We calculated 

variances based on the assumption of a Poisson process 

and from these variances calculated “relative random error” 

estimates, which are comparable to relative standard error, 

in that the relative random error is the ratio of random error 
Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000-2010—Statistical Tables | December 2012 27

derived from the Poisson variance to the number of deaths. 

Following NCHS, when the relative random error exceeded 

30 percent, we flagged estimated mortality rates due to the 

instability of the rate. 

Survey performance issues

Survey administration and modifications to the survey 

form generated data for years 2007 through 2009 that 

may not be wholly compatible with prior DCRP data. In 

2012, BJS identified a previously undetected data error 

mischaracterized over 600 illness-related deaths as illnessrelated deaths missing detailed cause of death information, 

leading to an inflated frequency of prison deaths in reference 

year 2007 being characterized as ‘all other illnesses’ while 

simultaneously depressing frequencies of known illnesses 

(i.e. heart disease, cancer, liver disease, etc). The error was 

identified and resolved, correcting the distributions. In 

2008, local jail officials were unable to provide causes of 

death for 22% of jail inmate deaths. During 2009, BJS made 

modifications to the collection instruments to improve 

reporting and reduce burden. 

 Item nonresponse in 2008 jail data and unknown cause of 

death: An abnormally large number of cases were missing 

a response for cause of death in the 2008 jail file (n=203; 

21.4% of all jail deaths in 2008). This coincided with 

the final year the U.S. Census Bureau acted as the data 

collection agent for DCRP. In prior years of the DCRP 

jail data collection, an average of 6% of all causes of death 

was classified as “other” or “unknown.” For the purposes 

of this report, BJS categorized all of these 203 jail deaths 

from 2008 as missing data about cause of death.

 2009 data collection: Prior to fielding the 2009 DCRP 

collection, BJS reviewed the data collection instrument 

and data submission procedures, and assessed the 

communications with DCRP respondents with the goal to 

reduce burden on respondents. The survey was modified to 

facilitate navigation and to encourage online response. The 

modifications led to delays in implementing data collection. 

As a result, death reports were not collected in the year the 

deaths occurred, but were instead collected retrospectively 

during 2010 for the first time. Data collection for 

subsequent years resumed on a normal schedule.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

NCJ239911

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. 

Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director.

Margaret E. Noonan and RTI analyzed the data; the report was prepared by 

Margaret E. Noonan. E. Ann Carson verified the report.

Kim Aspinwall carried out data collection and processing with assistance 

from Sarah Love, under the supervision of Chris Ellis, RTI International. 

Scott Ginder and Todd Heinrich provided statistical and technical assistance, 

respectively.

Catherine Bird, Jill Thomas, and Morgan Young edited the report, and 

Barbara Quinn produced the report, under the supervision of Doris J. James.

December 2012, NCJ 239911