Post-prison Mortality: Unnatural Death Among People Released from Victorian Prisons Between January 1990 and December 1999
| Date | 01 April 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1375/acri.36.1.94 |
| Published date | 01 April 2003 |
| Author | Annette Graham |
94 THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY
VOLUME 36 NUMBER 1 2003 PP.94–108
Address for correspondence: Annette Graham, State Coroner’s Office, 57–83 Kavanagh
Street, Southbank, VIC 3006, Australia. Email: annetteg@coronerscourt.vic.gov.au
Post-prison Mortality: Unnatural Death
Among People Released from Victorian
Prisons Between January 1990
and December 1999
Annette Graham
Victorian State Coroner’s Office, Australia
The extent and nature of unnatural death among people who were
released from Victorian prisons between January 1990 and
December 1999 were examined. A total of 820 men and women
released during that period were identified as having died unnatural
deaths while not imprisoned prior to July 2000. The rate of unnatural
deaths among Victorian ex-prisoners was double the 1996/1997 Victorian
rate of deaths in prison custody.The unnatural death rate of ex-prisoners
was 10 times that found in the general Victorian population. Risk of
unnatural death was greatest during the weeks immediately following
release and greater among those who had previous imprisonments.Over
half of the unnatural deaths were heroin-related deaths. Ex-prisoner
heroin-related deaths accounted for at least 25% of all the Victorian
heroin-related deaths.
Following the Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody,
custody deaths have been examined extensively (Biles & McDonald, 1992;
Copeland, 1984; Dalton, 2000; Fleming, McDonald, & Biles, 1992; Hunter, 1989;
Leibling & Ward, 1994; Morrison, 1996; Thomson & McDonald, 1993). It is clear
that Australian prisoners, especially Indigenous Australian prisoners, are much
more likely to die than are members of the general population. As a result of this
finding serious efforts have been made to prevent deaths in custody.
Biles, Harding, and Walker (1999) examined the death rate of Victorians
serving community correction orders. They found that those who are on commu-
nity correction orders have a higher death rate than those who are in custody. Of
the various types of community correction orders, parole orders were associated
with the highest death rate. The majority of Victorians released from prison are not
subject to parole orders. It is possible that the death rate of those released from
prison subject to no order reflects the death rate of those who are on parole. Both
groups are in some ways very similar, both have to deal with a dramatically different
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