50 Percent of Prison Inmate Deaths in Northeast
Caused by Aids 28 Percent Caused By Aids
Nationwide During 1991
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1993
50 PERCENT OF PRISON INMATE DEATHS IN NORTHEAST
CAUSED BY AIDS 28 PERCENT CAUSED BY AIDS NATIONWIDE
DURING 1991
More than half of the prison inmate deaths in
the nation's Northeastern states during 1991 were
caused by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS), according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) report released today. Nationwide, 28 percent
of the 1,863 state prisoners who died in custody
died from AIDS--513 men and 15 women.
In New Jersey 69 percent of the inmate deaths
were AIDS-related deaths, as were 66 percent in
New York, 44 percent in Florida, 33 percent in
Maryland and 30 percent in North Carolina and
Massachusetts, BJS said.
In 1991, the latest year for which the data
are available, 2.2 percent of the 792,000 men and
women in federal and state prisons were infected
with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that
causes AIDS. Of these, 0.6 percent exhibited HIV
symptoms, and 0.2 percent had confirmed AIDS.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Acting Director of
BJS, the Department of Justice's statistical
agency, said the findings came from the annual
reports of local, state and federal correctional
authorities and from in-depth interviews with
a nationally representative sample of almost
14,000 state prisoners nationwide.
"The states reporting the highest percentage
of HIV positive inmates were New York (13.8
percent), Connecticut (5.4 percent),
Massachusetts (5.3 percent), New Jersey (4
percent), Rhode Island (3.5 percent) and
Georgia (3.4 percent)," Greenfeld said.
In a nationally representative survey of
state prisoners about half the inmates reported
that they had been tested for HIV infection
and were willing to share the results with the
interviewers. Among tested prisoners who said
they had never used drugs, 0.8 percent were
HIV positive, as were 2.5 percent who said
they had used drugs at least once, 4.9 percent
who said they had used needles to inject drugs
and 7.1 percent who said they had shared needles.
About 25 percent of all state prison
inmates reported they had used a needle to
inject illegal drugs, and about half of them
had previously shared a needle with others.
An estimated 6.8 percent of Hispanic women
were HIV positive, as were 3.5 percent of
Hispanic men. Among black inmates, 3.5 percent
of the women and 2.5 percent of the men were
HIV positive. Among white inmates, 1.9 percent
of the women and 1 percent of the men were HIV
positive.
Inmates 35 to 44 years old had an infection
rate of 3.7 percent and were more likely than
those in other age groups to be HIV positive.
Prisoners sentenced for drug, property
or public order offenses (such as gambling
or weapons violations) were more likely to
be HIV positive than were violent offenders.
All the states as well as the District
of Columbia and the federal Bureau of Prisons
test inmates for the HIV virus either
routinely or for specific reasons.
Seventeen jurisdictions test all prisoners,
at admission, upon release or during custody.
Thirty-nine test if asked to do so by the
inmate, and 40 test if an inmate exhibits
symptoms of HIV infection.
Single copies of the special report
"HIV in U.S. Prisons and Jails" (NCJ 143292)
as well as other BJS statistical bulletins and
reports may be obtained from the National
Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box
6000, Rockville, Maryland 20850. The
telephone number is (800) 732-3277.
Data from the tables and graphs used
in many BJS reports can be made available
to news organzations in spreadsheet files
on 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" diskettes by calling
(202) 616-3283.
After hours contact: Stu Smith (301)
983-0354.
END OF FILE
Date Published: November 21, 1993