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.
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