Suicides made up more than half of federal inmate deaths, new watchdog report finds

Slightly more than half of all inmates who died while in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons from 2014 to 2021 died by suicide, the Justice Department Inspector General concluded in a report released on Thursday, raising concerns about excessive contraband behind bars, failures of mental health care and other «challenges.»

In the seven-year period analyzed by the new report, 344 inmates died in BOP custody and 187 killed themselves, according to the inspector general.

The nearly 100-page report found that staffing shortages, a lack of policy and a lack of adequate communication made all of the deaths at least somewhat preventable, the inspector general found.

«We also found instances of potentially inappropriate mental health care level assignments for some inmates who died by suicide, as well as deficiencies in staff completion of required mental health assessments,» Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a video released by the office.

«Additionally, we found that contraband drugs and weapons contributed to many of the inmate deaths in our scope, including for the 70 inmates who died of drug overdoses. Other long-standing operational challenges also contributed to many inmate deaths, such as staffing shortages, an outdated security camera system and an ineffective, untimely staff disciplinary process.»

These systemic concerns were brought into the spotlight after two high-profile inmate deaths: in 2018, when notorious mobster James «Whitey» Bulger was killed at at a federal facility in West Virginia; and in 2019, when disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffery Epstein, who had been accused of a sprawling sex trafficking conspiracy, died by suicide while in custody in Manhattan.

Epstein, the inspector general