Deaths in custody
Kyle Nagel (@KyleNagelDDN)
There were 31,964 deaths among state prisoners nationally from 2001-10, while 10,906 local jail inmates died in custody from 2000-10. Suicides remain the top cause of local jail inmate deaths, a topic studied by reporter Tom Beyerlein.
Here, a breakdown of government data on deaths in custody.
Prisoner deaths, 2001-10
Click on states to view information about prisoner deaths. Note that these do not include local jail inmates.
Total deaths - 100 or fewer
- 100-200
- 200-400
- 400-600
- 600-800
- 1,000 or more
National Totals
31,964 deaths
8,415 heart disease
7,833 cancer
2,442 liver disease
2,025 respiratory illness
1,540 AIDS
6,086 all other illnesses
1,994 suicide
398 drug/alcohol intoxication
290 accident
515 homicide
232 other/unknown
Please confirm the information below before signing in.