Cancer was the leading cause of death among state and federal prisoners in the United States, which killed 1,082 prisoners in 2019. Heart disease was the second leading cause of death in that year, accounting for 1,038 deaths.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death
Characteristic
Number of fatalities
Cancer
1,082
Heart disease
1,038
Suicide
311
Drug/alcohol intoxication
253
Homicide
143
Liver disease
141
Accident
32
AIDS-related
17
Other illnesses
531
Other
28
Missing/unknown
42
01002003004005006007008009001,0001,1001,200
Add this content to your personal favorites. These can be accessed from the favorites menu in the main navigation.
You have no right to use this feature.
Make sure to contact us if you are interested in scientific citation.
You can upgrade your account to enable this functionality for all statistics.
This feature is not available with your current account.Request access
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
US Bureau of Justice Statistics. (December 1, 2021). Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/
US Bureau of Justice Statistics. "Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death." Chart. December 1, 2021. Statista. Accessed June 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/
US Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2021). Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: June 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/
US Bureau of Justice Statistics. "Number of State and Federal Prisoner Fatalities in The United States in 2019, by Cause of Death." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Dec 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/
US Bureau of Justice Statistics, Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/ (last visited June 13, 2025)
Number of state and federal prisoner fatalities in the United States in 2019, by cause of death [Graph], US Bureau of Justice Statistics, December 1, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/220979/number-of-state-prisoner-fatalities-in-the-us-by-cause-of-death/
Advertisement
Profit from additional features with an Employee Account
Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites.
Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
