As pandemic swept U.S., deaths in prisons rose by almost 50%

Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50% during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states, they more than doubled, according to the first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the era of COVID-19.

The tremendous jump in deaths in 2020 was more than twice the increase in the United States overall and even exceeded estimates of the percentage increase at nursing homes, among the hardest-hit sectors nationwide. In many states, the data showed, high rates continued in 2021.

Although there was ample evidence that prisons were COVID-19 hot spots, an examination of the data by The New York Times underscored how quickly the virus rampaged through crowded facilities and how an aging inmate population, a correctional staffing shortage and ill-equipped medical personnel combined to make prisoners especially vulnerable during the worst public health crisis in a century.

“There are so many who passed away due to not getting the medical care they needed,” said Teresa Bebeau, whose imprisoned friend died from complications of COVID-19 and cancer in South Carolina. “Most of these people, they didn't go in there with death sentences, but they're dying.”

COVID-19 infections drove the death totals, but inmates also succumbed to other illnesses, suicide and violence, according to the data, which was collected by law school researchers at UCLA and that provides a more detailed, accurate look at deaths in prison systems during the pandemic than earlier efforts.

Altogether, at least 6,182 people died in American prisons in 2020, compared with 4,240 the previous year, even as the country's prison population declined to about 1.3 million from more than 1.4 million.

Several of the states with the highest mortality rates in 2020 had a history of elevated prison deaths, including Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina and West Virginia. Researchers said the high numbers — 96 deaths per 10,000 prisoners in West Virginia, more than in any other state — stemmed from long sentences, harsh conditions and relatively poor public health overall.

“Clearly, the pandemic is the story, but it is just a part of the story,” said Aaron Littman, an assistant professor and the acting director of the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project.

Chrysti Shain, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Corrections Department, said a lack of testing early in the pandemic had contributed to increased infections. “South Carolina has made significant changes in both its medical and mental health care systems over the past decade” to improve care in prisons, she said.