0 people, most recent first. Choose a name, or a dot on the map.
51 of them are named here. The rest appear only in the state’s official counts, without names.
At least 2 people have died in custody in North Dakota so far in 2026. The most recent named here is Brian Sailor, who died on January 27, 2026 at Lake Region Correctional Center.
Each dot is one of them, held in a jail, prison or lockup, or executed by the state. Some died after abuse by officers; others from withdrawal, overdose or untreated illness; many by suicide. Almost all of them show the state’s neglect of the people in its custody.
This is an undercount: many deaths are never made public, and older records are hard to find.
0 people, most recent first. Choose a name, or a dot on the map.
One mark per person, by the year they died. Choose the box at the side to see every decade. Coverage is uneven: recent deaths come mostly from local news since 2000, older ones from official lists and historical newspapers, so the shape shows what was recorded as much as how many people died.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics has published yearly counts of deaths in North Dakota's state prisons, as the state reported them, for 2001 to 2019, but not who died. Most of those deaths, especially from illness, never appear in the news, so far fewer are named here. The gap is people still to be identified.
These are the counts the state itself reported to the federal government. The series ends in 2019 and has not been updated since.
Source: The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, 2001–2019. Official counts are deaths in state prisons only; county jails report to no central agency.
| Year | Reported by BJS | Named here |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 |
Each bar is a source and the years its records cover. Sources checked on a schedule are searched again for new records; the others were collected once.
These deaths have cost taxpayers in North Dakota at least $2.9 million: the amount governments have agreed or been ordered to pay the families and estates of at least 2 people named here, in settlements and court awards reported in the news. Families sued over at least 9 of these deaths. Many suits end with no amount made public, and many settlements are kept confidential, so the true cost is higher.
| Person | Paid by | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey Higdem | Rolette County | 2025 | $2 million |
| Dustin Irwin | Ward County | 2017 | $900,000 |
Questions, a correction, or a death I’ve missed? Email me at orion.j.taylor@gmail.com.