how long each person spent behind bars or their cause of death, Bovell-Ammon says.
Black people had a higher death rate after they’d spent time imprisoned, the researchers found. On the other hand, white former inmates lived as long as they would have otherwise.
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How does prison affect long-term health?
The way prisons are run could have something to do with this increased rate of death, Bryan Sykes, an assistant professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California-Irvine says.
Solitary confinement has been shown to harm a person’s long-term health, and simply being housed with so many others in close quarters increases the spread of infectious diseases, according to Sykes, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the study. Prison food is lousy and meager, often prompting inmates to load up on unhealthy junk food from the commissary.
Inmates in poor health also can expect to receive poor medical care, Sykes adds.
Prisons “tend to be highly inequipped — the medical personnel and medical expertise, even just medical supplies — to deal with immediate health concerns while incarcerated,” Sykes shares. “For some inmates, they have to wait considerable lengths of time before they can even see a medical professional because sometimes the medical professional comes once a week.”
The struggles Blacks face after getting released from jail
Bovell-Ammon suspects that the stress Black convicts face upon their release from confinement probably has even more to do with their long-term health than their treatment behind bars.
“When applicants are applying for jobs, a white individual with a criminal record is more likely to get a call back than a Black individual without a criminal record,” he says. “Blacks already face limited opportunities that get even worse after spending time in prison and carrying a criminal record.”
Black people re-entering society after serving their time also must deal with disruptions in their social networks, educational opportunities and ability to access programs like low-income housing and food stamps, Bovell-Ammon adds.
Further, Black people are less likely to have enough money on hand or enough connections to successfully