Deaths in Virginia prisons rise as inmate population grows older, report finds

More people are dying in Virginia prisons as the state’s incarcerated population grows older, according to a new report from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services . The agency found 111 people died in state correctional facilities in 2025, up from 97 the year before. The findings come from Virginia’s second annual deaths-in-custody report, which tracks deaths involving law enforcement agencies, prisons, jails and juvenile correctional facilities. Statewide, the report identified 216 people died in custody during 2025. Of those deaths, 111 happened in state prisons, 58 took place in local or regional jails and 47 while in law enforcement custody.

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