Death rate in New Jersey prisons has climbed, state watchdog finds

by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor

One in seven people who died in New Jersey’s state prisons since 2018 died of “unnatural causes” including overdoses, suicides, homicides, and accidents, a state watchdog found in a new report.

Investigators from the Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson found that 336 people died in state Department of Corrections custody between 2018 and 2024, with medical examiners attributing most — 83% — to natural causes.

While the number of deaths held fairly steady at an average of 41 per year (excluding a pandemic-related spike in 2020), the prison population fell by a third from over 19,000 in 2018 to under 13,000 last year, the report notes.

That means the overall death rate rose over that time.

Of deaths deemed unnatural, 20 people fatally overdosed, 13 died by suicide, six were murdered, and eight died of accidents (including falls and one accidental choking believed to be related to drug use or medical issues), researchers found.

Most unnatural deaths occurred at Northern State Prison in Newark and New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Nine people who died were 25 or younger, with the youngest just 20. Eight of those deaths were ruled unnatural, the report notes.

Of natural deaths, 48 were attributed to COVID-19 and 172 others to cardiac issues, cancer, and respiratory or pulmonary diseases, the report says. Most occurred in hospitals. About a third were receiving end-of-life or advanced nursing care in an extended care unit at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton.

Investigators examined only death trends and did not assess preventative or emergency responses by the state Department of Corrections or medical providers, incident reports, patients’ medical records, or the department’s process of assessingthe morbidity and mortality of people in its custody.

The findings are meant to allow the public, policymakers, and prison administrators “to have an initial understanding of the big picture, ask questions, flag concerning trends, and engage in a policy discussion about how to prevent deaths in the future,” said Terry Schuster, the state corrections ombudsperson.

Schuster recommended that the Department of Corrections begin publicly reporting on deaths in custody, including “contextual information” about the people who died and the causes, circumstances, and locations of deaths.

“There are many reasons why publicizing information about people who have died in state prisons is critical,” Schuster wrote. “Doing so may help create transparency for the public, queue up important questions for prison officials and health care providers, understand the scale of an epidemic, and draw needed attention to facilities or custody settings where unnatural deaths or other preventable deaths are occurring in larger numbers.”

Dan Sperrazza, a Department of Corrections spokesman, said prison officials investigate all deaths in custody and have taken steps to reduce them.

Those steps include switching to a mail-scanning system to thwart drugs entering prison that way, establishing a self-harm task force to identify and eliminate cell hazards, increasing targeted searches to minimize contraband and weapons, and expanding mental health resources and observation protocols for people deemed high-risk.

“The Department continuously evaluates the operations, safety, and security of the population to improve and increase access to care,” Sperrazza said. “Departmental policies are regularly updated to address emerging trends, population needs, and national best practices.”