US justice department watchdog finds hundreds of preventable prison deaths

From 2014 to 2021, 187 people died by suicide, there were 89 homicides and 56 deaths deemed ‘accidental’ inside prisons

Institutional failures and policy violations by the US bureau of prisons (BoP) have contributed to hundreds of preventable deaths of incarcerated people in recent years, according to a federal watchdog report released Thursday.

The US justice department office of the inspector general (OIG) found that from 2014 to 2021, 187 people died by suicide inside BoP institutions, with the prisons’ psychology services staff reporting that these types of deaths could be prevented if the facilities followed protocols and delivered proper resources and treatment to people in custody. The report also documented 89 homicides and 56 deaths deemed “accidental” during that time period, and said the BoP consistently failed to effectively discipline staff for misconduct that contributed to the deaths.