{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T12:04:51Z","timestamp":1792670691824,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"48","content-domain":{"domain":["www.science.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sci. Adv."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>U.S. prisons were especially susceptible to COVID-19 infection and death; however, data limitations have precluded a national accounting of prison mortality (including but not limited to COVID-19 mortality) during the pandemic. Our analysis of mortality data collected from public records requests (supplemented with publicly available data) from 48 Departments of Corrections provides the most comprehensive understanding to date of in-custody mortality during 2020. We find that total mortality increased by 77% in 2020 relative to 2019, corresponding to 3.4 times the mortality increase in the general population, and that mortality in prisons increased across all age groups (49 and under, 50 to 64, and 65 and older). COVID-19 was the primary driver for increases in mortality due to natural causes; some states also experienced substantial increases due to unnatural causes. These findings provide critical information about the pandemic\u2019s toll on some of the country\u2019s most vulnerable individuals while underscoring the need for data transparency and standardized reporting in carceral settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.adj8104","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,1]],"date-time":"2023-12-01T18:58:36Z","timestamp":1701457116000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Excess mortality in U.S. prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2346-4786","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Naomi F.","family":"Sugie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4642-3490","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kristin","family":"Turney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keramet","family":"Reiter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2746-4177","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Tublitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."},{"name":"Institute for State and Local Governance, City University of New\u00a0York, New\u00a0York, NY 10016, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniela","family":"Kaiser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rebecca","family":"Goodsell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erin","family":"Secrist","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9631-2014","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ankita","family":"Patil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9782-2777","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Monik","family":"Jim\u00e9nez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2021.5199"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1377\/hlthaff.2021.00414"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.18851"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.22109"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.15589"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1108\/IJPH-08-2021-0069"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.12528"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2021.12.011"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","unstructured":"K.\u00a0L.\u00a0Mitchell J.\u00a0Laskorunsky N.\u00a0Bielenberg L.\u00a0Chin M.\u00a0Wadsworth Examining prison releases in response to COVID: Lessons learned for reducing the effects of mass incarceration. University of Minnesota Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 22 July 2022. https:\/\/robinainstitute.umn.edu\/publications\/examining-prison-releases-response-covid-lessons-learned-reducing-effects-mass."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M.\u00a0A.\u00a0Novisky C.\u00a0S.\u00a0Narvey D.\u00a0C.\u00a0Semenza. 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