TO DIE WITH YOUR BOOTS ON - RELATIVE LETHALITY OF THE STATES

External causes of death (accidents, suicides, and homicides) account for slightly more than seven percent of all deaths in the United State s. This percentage varies, however, from less than five percent in Rho de Island to almost fifteen percent in New Mexico and over twenty-five percent in Alaska. Relative lethality from external causes among the states is examined, and several explanatory hypotheses for observed di fferences are presented.