Violent Death Rates and Risk for Released Prisoners in North Carolina

Abstract

Released prisoners face high risk of early mortality. The risk of violent death, specifically homicide and suicide, are addressed in this study. Data on inmates released from the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections (N = 476) matched to the Violent Death Reporting System are analyzed to estimate rates and demographic and criminal justice-related predictors. Violent death rates for persons released from prison were more than 7 times higher than for the general adult population. Results from multinomial logistic regression indicate decreased homicide risk for every year of age, whereas male gender and minority race increased risk. For suicide, minority race, release without supervision, and substance abuse treatment in prison decreased fatality risk. By contrast, a history of mental illness increased suicide risk. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Mortality Rates and Cause of Death Among Former Prison Inmates in North Carolina

“…The overall mortality rate was lower in North Carolina during this same time period; however, we did not specifically examine sub-injury categories within unin- tentional injuries such as drug overdoses. For violent deaths, these findings dovetail with the work from Lize et al that found released inmates in North Carolina were more likely to experience a violent death than the general population [11]. Suicide and homicide were 14 times and 7 times greater than expected (respectively).…”

“…Suicides were associated with risk of reincarceration, relationship problems, depression, and other life circumstances [10]. Another study found that violent death rates among released prisoners were 7 times higher than the general population, and that the risk of being a homicide victim decreased with age and increased with being a male or a minority [11]. A decrease in suicide was associated with being a minority, release without probation or community corrections supervision, and receipt of substance abuse treatment in prison.…”

“…Risk for homicide and suicide deaths were substantially higher among former inmates (SMR = 8.47; CI: 7.52-9.52), with a median age of 31.5 at death, and the SMR for suicide was 3.23 (CI: 2.86-3.63), with a median age of 36.5 at death. oners [10][11][12]. In a cohort of inmates who died after release from North Carolina prisons, circumstances associated with homicides included arguments and criminal activity.…”

“…A decrease in suicide was associated with being a minority, release without probation or community corrections supervision, and receipt of substance abuse treatment in prison. A history of mental illness was associated with an increased risk of suicide [11]. By linking North Carolina state prisoner release records with death records, Rosen et al evaluated cause-specific mortality rates of 15,673 former male inmates with North Carolina population data from 1980 to 2005.…”

Interventions at the Transition from Prison to the Community for Prisoners with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review

“…All-cause mortality for prisoners after release from prison is higher than in the general population (Farrell and Marsden 2008 ) and the risk of suicide for released prisoners is high in the first month in the community (Pratt et al 2006 ). In both cases, having a diagnosed mental health condition confers additional risk (Lize et al 2015 ). Prisoners with severe mental illness may also have poor outcomes on forensic measures with higher rates of reoffending and return to prison, especially in those with co-occurring substance use disorders (Baillargeon et al 2010 ).…”