A total of 144 inmates and convicts have died at Ukrainian correctional facilities in the first three months of 2017, according to data released by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko after a meeting on the reform in the correctional health care system.

"As of March 30, 2017, 144 inmates and convicts have died, versus 112 in the same period last year; as a result of the humanization of the criminal laws and implementation of the Savchenko act, the number of prison inmates is constantly decreasing (from 81,400 to 60,600 in 2016)," Lutsenko said, his spokeswoman Larysa Sarhan wrote on her Facebook page.

There are up to 1,200 disabled inmates who need special medical care, according to the report.

There is also a particular nurse staffing problem, with six Justice Ministry inter-regional directorates falling short of the required level by two-thirds, Lutsenko said. In addition, there is a catastrophic shortage of doctors and medium-level health personnel, whose staffing rates in many institutions are no more than 50-60%, the prosecutor general said.