Drug- and Alcohol-Associated Deaths in U.S. Jails.

Drugs and alcohol are the third leading cause of death in U.S. jails. We analyzed 2000 to 2013 national jail mortality data by coding text data. We identified 1,442 deaths associated with drugs and alcohol. Drug-associated deaths were more than double alcohol-associated deaths during 2009 to 2013 when drug type was available for drug-associated mortality. Only 18% of deaths within 7 days of arrest for alcohol intoxication were officially coded as involving drugs/alcohol intoxication. Among the 103 deaths associated with substance withdrawal, 66 involved alcohol, 21 involved drugs (primarily opioids), and 16 could not be determined. Drugs and alcohol likely contribute to more deaths in jails than has been recognized due to how deaths are coded. Alcohol and opioid withdrawal represent a small but underappreciated contributor to jail deaths.

Mortality among white, black, and Hispanic male and female state prisoners, 2001-2009.

Although much research considers the relationship between imprisonment and mortality, little existing research has tested whether the short-term mortality advantage enjoyed by prisoners extends to Hispanics. We compared the mortality rates of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic male and female state prisoners to mortality rates in the general population using data from the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, the National Prisoner Statistics, the National Corrections Reporting Program, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results indicate that the mortality advantage for prisoners was greatest for black males, followed by black females, Hispanic males, white females, and white males. Hispanic female prisoners were the only group not at a mortality advantage relative to the general population, with an SMR of 1.18 [95% CI: 0.93-1.43]. Taken together, the results suggest that future research should seek to better understand the curious imprisonment-mortality relationship among Hispanic females, although given the small number of inmate deaths that happen to this group (~0.6%), this research should not detract from broader research on imprisonment and mortality.