Being released from prison may be far riskier than anyone thought. Former inmates of Washington state prisons were 3.5 times more likely to die during their first two years after release than people of the same age, sex and race who had never been incarcerated.
The danger was greatest during the first two weeks, when former inmates were 13 times more likely to die than their non-incarcerated peers (The New England Journal of Medicine, vol 356, p 157).
The study tracked 30,237 former inmates released between July 1999 and December 2003. Leading causes of death included drug overdose and suicide, which the team believe may be due to prior addictions, underlying mental illness and the stress of re-entry into society.
Lead author Ingrid Binswanger of the University of Colorado, Denver, says additional services such as halfway houses and drug-treatment programmes may be needed. "If these results are applicable to other ...
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