Risk of death is very high for newly released inmates

Prison life may be dangerous, but getting out can be deadly, too. Newly released inmates were almost 13 times more likely than the general public to die during their first two weeks of freedom, a study in Washington state found.

Drug overdoses were the top killer, with ex-convicts 129 times more likely to die that way within two weeks of their release than the general population. That cause of death was followed by heart disease, homicide and suicide, according to the study, the first major look at the issue.

Over an average of two years, the study found the ex-inmates were 3 1/2 times more likely than other state residents and nearly four times more likely than current inmates to die.

"The differences are more striking for women than they are for men," said lead researcher Dr. Ingrid Binswanger, a public health researcher and assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Denver.

While 87 percent of ex-prisoners in the study were men, the risk of death for the women was 5 1/2 times higher than for other women in the state.

Experts said the rest of the country likely has a similar, or even worse, situation than Washington state, although the specific drugs causing overdoses might vary by region.

Binswanger, who did her research with colleagues while at the University of Washington, noted studies in Europe and Australia found similarly high death rates, particularly right after release from prison.

The new findings show the need for more programs to help ex-inmates with a history of addiction and poor health cope with the stress of finding housing, a job, health care and other necessities and stay clean, said Christy Visher of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

Other experts said the results don't surprise them because inmates have far more physical and mental health problems than other citizens, often get inadequate treatment behind bars and get little help making the huge transition to society after a highly structured life.

"People need much more than a job and a place to put their heads," said Nancy Wolff, who heads Rutgers University's Center for Mental Health and Criminal Justice Research and is developing a curriculum for prisons to train inmates before release.