Deaths in prison: A guide for detention monitors

Deaths in custody – whether from illness, violence, suicide or neglect – raise serious human rights and public health concerns. Overcrowding, inadequate healthcare and poor conditions significantly increase the risk of deaths in custody. States have a heightened duty of care to protect the right to life of people in prison, including obligations to prevent deaths and ensure independent investigations when they occur.

As detention monitors play a crucial role in holding authorities accountable and preventing future deaths, this guide, co-published with the University of Nottingham, offers practical guidance on monitoring deaths in prison, covering data collection, investigations, prevention and discrimination-related risks. This guide is part of PRI’s Detention Monitoring Tools, and is intended for National Preventive Mechanisms, National Human Rights Institutions, ombudsperson offices, civil society actors and others engaged in oversight of detention.

Drawing on international norms including the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) and the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, the guide also presents promising practices from Brazil, the Philippines and Spain.

Download the resource:  English