Local News

Mass. has a troubled record on prison suicides

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez sits at the defense table during jury deliberations in his double murder trial of at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, April 12, 2017. Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool

By The Boston Globe

Less than a minute to read

Massachusetts prisons for years have had a troubled track record when it comes to suicides by inmates.

Related Links

The latest data from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics show that there were 32 suicides per 100,000 state and federal prisoners in Massachusetts between 2001 and 2014 — the fourth-highest such rate in the country and about twice the national average.

In what appears to be the most recent case of inmate suicide, former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was found dead, hanging in his cell at a prison in Shirley, early Wednesday morning.

Read the complete story at BostonGlobe.com.

Don’t have a Globe subscription? Boston.com readers get a 2-week free trial.

Advertisement: