Conference seeks to improve prevention and responses to deaths in prisons

On 2 and 3 November 2022, a group of academics, advocates, artists and prison monitors from different countries gathered in Oxford, England to discuss the challenges and stronger approaches to deaths in prisons. The conference was organised by the University of Nottingham and led by the PrisonDEATH team, with experts from diverse disciplines sharing their research findings, personal experiences and advocacy strategies to call for comprehensive actions that protect the right to life, integrity and dignity of people in prison and their families.  

Participants recalled that the high mortality rates among global prison populations – up to 50% higher than in the general community – is a serious human rights and a public health concern, though often overlooked. The significant gaps in coverage and accuracy of prison death data, including the misclassification of causes of death and the lack of effective investigations, were highlighted as key obstacles to ensure accountability and inform policy changes to prevent future loss of life.  

At the conference, PRI presented its findings from a call for information on data and main causes of deaths​ in prison, which was conducted with the support of the University of Nottingham to inform an upcoming policy briefing that will be published in December 2022. PRI also introduced ongoing research on how deaths in prison are investigated around the world, with the objective of identifying good practices and common challenges to inform new guidance to support national authorities and others to improve policy and practice. 

Dr Róisín Mulgrew (University of Galway, Ireland) presents the factors that contribute to deaths in prison worldwide.