Report: Inmates twice as likely to die by homicide

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Justice looked at mortality rates for state and federal prisoners between 2001 and 2019.

It found state prisoners were more than twice as likely to die by homicide than the general U.S. adult population. From 2001 to 2019, the number of deaths by homicide to inmates increased nationally by 267 percent.

The data showed the general adult population was more likely to die from drug or alcohol intoxication and accidents than the U.S. inmate population.

The DOJ report also found the portion of state prisoners who died from drug or alcohol intoxication, homicide and suicide all reached their highest levels since data collection by the department began.

Homicides made up just under four percent of inmate deaths. Those deaths were a result of inmates being killed by other inmates, incidental to the use of force by staff and resulting from injuries sustained during a prior altercation with other inmates.

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