Prisoners: Death Chris Huhne To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people died in prison of drug-related causes in each year since 1997. Maria Eagle The prison system for classifying deaths does not include a specific category for drug related deaths, which is a drug related death where the underlying cause is poisoning, drug abuse or dependence and any of the substances controlled under the Misuse of Drug Act (1971) are involved. However, information is recorded on deaths where an overdose of any drug played a part. The table shows the numbers of non-natural deaths associated with a drugs overdose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Other non-natural|Self-inflicted|Total| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1997 |— |— |0 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1998 |— |— |0 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1999 |— |2 |2 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2000 |— |4 |4 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2001 |— |2 |2 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2002 |1 |3 |4 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2003 |— |3 |3 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |— |3 |3 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |1 |5 |6 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |2 |1 |3 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2007 |— |3 |3 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2008 |— |3 |3 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Note:The deaths reported in this table have been extracted, from the total deaths in prison in the period in question. While every effort is made to maintain a high level of accuracy, these figures may change as subsequent information arises, such as verdicts. They should not be read or taken as absolute figures.| | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The drug related self-inflicted deaths refer to cases where an overdose of any drug resulted in death. Three of the four other non-natural deaths refer to situations where any drug may have contributed to the death but not in fatal amounts. The other case relates to a fatal attempt to smuggle drugs into prison.