Data were obtained on all convicted prisoners who died in Switzerland between 1984 and 2000 as well as a sample of fingerprinted persons in the general population who died between 1997 and 2001. The data on prisoners include those who died outside prison facilities, e.g., while they were on home leave or during attempted escapes. The number of convicted adult prisoners who died between 1984 and 2000 was 266, with the most common causes of unnatural deaths being, in order of frequency, drug overdose, suicide, traffic and other accidents, and homicide. There were 32 natural deaths. For both convicted prisoners and fingerprinted suspects, the most common causes of death, in descending order, were natural causes, drug overdoses, and suicides. Drug overdoses were apparently more of a problem than suicide for fingerprinted persons than prisoners. The mean age at death was similar for prisoners and fingerprinted suspects (death in their early 30s). Similar to research in other countries, this study found that offenders in the community are as vulnerable to death as prisoners, indicating that the circumstances of imprisonment per se may not increase the likelihood of death or suicide. 12 tables and 36 references