State inmates outlive people on outside

[spindrifter]

Jan 21, 5:21 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- State prison inmates, particularly blacks, are living longer on average than people on the outside, the government said Sunday.

Inmates in state prisons are dying at an average yearly rate of 250 per 100,000, according to the latest figures reported to the Justice Department by state prison officials. By comparison, the overall population of people between age 15 and 64 is dying at a rate of 308 a year.

For black inmates, the rate was 57 percent lower than among the overall black population - 206 versus 484. But white and Hispanic prisoners both had death rates slightly above their counterparts in the overall population.

<snip>

Medical problems that were most common among both men and women in state prisons were heart disease, lung and liver cancer, liver diseases and AIDS-related causes.

<more>

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PRISON_DEATHS?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[LeftyMom]

1. No kidding.

1. They get medical care.

2. The really sick or dying ones often are released.

[pitohui]

9. no they don't necessarily get medical care

well maybe the men in washington state but it's a national disgrace that women do not receive medical care in prison

some time back nation magazine covered how women with breast cancer were refused treatment -- for breast cancer

if you are an old man, in certain states, i guess you can also do a hold up and save your family the price of nursing home, what's the diff between a prison and a nursing home if you can't travel anyway, but if you are a woman i would never, ever advise this because my understanding is that female prisoners do not really get medical care

i hope i am just paranoid but this is what i've been told and what i've observed

men in prison -- come out looking younger and rested, in james brown's words, women in prison -- come out looking decades older, it's scary

i hope my info is old, maybe they have actually hired a few doctors by now for women's prisons, i dunno

[LeftyMom]

11. I only know about women's prisons here (my Dad used to work in one)

but here they do have medical care for sure here.

In California at least medical care at the state level is pretty good, not outstanding in terms of specialists and stuff but better than most folks get on the outside. They do tend to release terminal cases, because it's cheaper than paying for them and it's generally assumed the sick, old and half-dead aren't much threat to society.

On the other hand, care at the city and county level is an outright scandal here, especially mental health care.

[pitohui]

13. yeah this is louisiana

equal rights for women, ain't never gonna happen

i'm glad it's better out there

[Gman]

2. Black inmates will get the needed medical care they would not get

on the outside. To me this proves the inequality in health care for Blacks.

[Kutjara]

3. You know things are in bad shape...

...when you're better off in jail.

[Robbien]

4. Pretty soon the media will be saying a stay in prison is better than

going on a luxury vacation.

[HereSince1628]

5. Babs is gonna want to send the next hurricane victims to prison

This is great. Her precious Houston won't need to put up with dangerous, dirty, smelly hurricane victims.

[w4rma]

6. Heh. Inmates get universal healthcare. Non-inmates don't. (nt)

[tjwash]

7. LUCKY DUCKIES!!

Great. Another biased racially divisive "study." Just what America needs. So I wonder if the same "Charles Murray" type group that conducted another controversial and racially charged study performed this one as well?

[daleo]

8. Prison inmates will skew to a younger demographic than the overall population

That's propably all this really amounts to.

[pitohui]

10. oh! of course you are right

the minute you said it i realized this is true

[Auntie Bush]

12. Blacks are living longer in prison than those on the outside because they

get medical attention...though very little...when in prison. That just goes to show/prove how our society neglects those that can't afford health care. Blacks in prison at least get to go to the Dr. once in awhile, but they are still lucky if they get some attention. A little is better than none! Those statistics are embarrassing to our country.