• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
  • RSS

Study: Black Men Survive Longer In Prison

A shocking, but as I will explain below not surprising, study:






“Typically, prison-based care is more comprehensive than what inmates have received prior to their admission,” Sung, who wasn’t involved in the new study, told Reuters Health by email.





This isn’t surprising at all. First of all, when someone is in prison the opportunities for drug and alcohol abuse, which contribute significantly to bad health, are significantly reduced. Additionally, prison diets are much more regulated and, quite honestly, probably healthier than what someone in a lower-income group is likely to eat on the outside. Moreover, there isn’t much else to do when you’re behind bars other than exercise, which itself has health benefits. Finally, while prison health care doesn’t provide for regular checkups necessarily, it’s likely to be better than what the inmate could get on the outside. Meanwhile, on the outside, African-American men are more likely than the population as a whole to have drug and alcohol problems, the diet of someone who lives in a lower income group is likely to be high in fat and salt, and less access to health care.

The policy implications here seem rather clear, the question is how to implement them. Long-term poverty in minority communities has been a problem in the United States for awhile, and nothing the government has done has seemed help at all.


Related Posts:

About Doug Mataconis


  1. Dave Schuler says:

    Given the large number of black men who are victims of homicides, I speculate that may be one of the reasons for the finding.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

  2. Tano says:

    nothing the government has done has seemed help at all.

    Except the “War on Poverty”.
    The poverty rate was in the 22-23% range through the late 1950s into the 60s. It started falling during the Kennedy administration, and the decline continued rather dramatically with Johnson’s WoP. Within ten years of that, the rate was cut in half, down to around 11%. It has fluctuated between 12-15% since then.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1