CLEVELAND, Ohio - About one out of every 17 deaths in state prisons across the country is the result of suicide, ranking behind illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, the latest data from the Justice Department shows.

The share of deaths attributed to suicide is much higher at local jails, where prisoners are held for shorter periods of time and often have just been arrested.

In Ohio prisons, there were 63 suicides from 2001 through 2011, according to a mortality report published last month by the Justice Department's Bureau of Statistics. (See state by state details in chart below.)

At state prisons nationally, suicides accounted for 5.5 percent of state prison deaths in 2011, ranking behind cancer (30.7 percent), heart disease (25.5 percent), liver disease (10.1 percent) and respiratory disease (6.1 percent).

There were 185 suicides in state prisons, the lowest number in 10 years, but more than double the number deaths attributed to homicide (70).

In contrast, suicide is the leading cause of death in local jails, accounting for 35 percent of the deaths, the report showed.

The 310 people who committed suicide in local jails in 2011 amounted to 43 suicides per 100,000 prisoners.

The 185 suicides in state prisons nationally represented 14 per 100,000 inmates.

Overall, Ohio's state prison mortality rate was 218 deaths per 100,000 inmates in 2011, ranking 35th nationally.

Here are the causes for deaths in Ohio state prisons from 2001 through 2011:

Cancer: 392

Heart disease: 366

Liver disease: 76

Respiratory disease:95

AIDS-related: 30

Other illness: 191

Suicide: 63

Drug or alcohol intoxication: 4

Accident: 5

Homicide: 15

Other/unknown:6

State prisoner deaths, 2001-2011

State Total Suicide Pct.

suicide Homicide Pct.

homicide Alabama 835 15 1.8% 9 1.1% Alaska 100 18 18.0% 2 2.0% Arizona 831 67 8.1% 20 2.4% Arkansas 462 26 5.6% 9 1.9% California 4,051 364 9.0% 142 3.5% Colorado 478 38 7.9% 14 2.9% Connecticut 322 47 14.6% 3 0.9% Delaware 175 19 10.9% 2 1.1% Florida 2,707 75 2.8% 44 1.6% Georgia 1,267 59 4.7% 31 2.4% Hawaii 105 17 16.2% 4 3.8% Idaho 152 19 12.5% 2 1.3% Illinois 942 85 9.0% 9 1.0% Indiana 680 44 6.5% 18 2.6% Iowa 156 22 14.1% 1 0.6% Kansas 251 14 5.6% 2 0.8% Kentucky 526 11 2.1% 1 0.2% Louisiana 989 17 1.7% 4 0.4% Maine 40 3 7.5% 2 5.0% Maryland 667 52 7.8% 26 3.9% Massachusetts 349 34 9.7% 2 0.6% Michigan 1,346 76 5.6% 9 0.7% Minnesota 146 19 13.0% 0 0.0% Mississippi 579 26 4.5% 7 1.2% Missouri 806 41 5.1% 12 1.5% Montana 77 9 11.7% 1 1.3% Nebraska 103 4 3.9% 1 1.0% Nevada 342 19 5.6% 7 2.0% New Hampshire 71 10 14.1% 0 0.0% New Jersey 669 36 5.4% 8 1.2% New Mexico 188 17 9.0% 7 3.7% New York 1,676 138 8.2% 16 1.0% North Carolina 912 28 3.1% 10 1.1% North Dakota 10 1 10.0% 0 0.0% Ohio 1,243 63 5.1% 15 1.2% Oklahoma 803 42 5.2% 35 4.4% Oregon 373 26 7.0% 3 0.8% Pennsylvania 1,587 76 4.8% 8 0.5% Rhode Island 75 16 21.3% 1 1.3% South Carolina 696 28 4.0% 21 3.0% South Dakota 76 10 13.2% 2 2.6% Tennessee 789 32 4.1% 17 2.2% Texas 4,498 273 6.1% 38 0.8% Utah 110 23 20.9% 3 2.7% Vermont 36 5 13.9% 0 0.0% Virginia 949 32 3.4% 8 0.8% Washington 381 21 5.5% 6 1.6% West Virginia 175 4 2.3% 2 1.1% Wisconsin 454 55 12.1% 0 0.0% Wyoming 53 4 7.5% 0 0.0%

Source: Department of Justice