A ranar 5 ga watan Mayu, Sands ya mutu a asibitin kurkuku a rana ta sittin da shida na yajin aikinsa, wanda ya haifar da tarzoma a yankunan masu kishin kasa na Arewacin Ireland. Humphrey Atkins ya ba da sanarwar cewa Sands ya kashe kansa "a ƙarƙashin umarnin waɗanda suka ji yana da amfani ga dalilin da ya sa ya mutu". Fiye da mutane 100,000 sun yi layi a kan hanyar jana'izarsa, wanda aka gudanar da shi tare da cikakkun girmamawa na soja na IRA. Margaret Thatcher ba ta nuna tausayi ga mutuwarsa ba, yana gaya wa House of Commons cewa "Mista Sands mai laifi ne. Ya zaɓi ya kashe kansa. Zaɓin ne cewa kungiyarsa ba ta ba da damar kashe yawancin wadanda aka kashe ba". A cikin makonni biyu bayan mutuwar Sands, wasu 'yan ci gaba da fama da yunwa sun mutu. Francis Hughes ya mutu a ranar 12 ga watan Mayu, wanda ya haifar da tarzoma a yankunan Arewacin Ireland, musamman a Belfast.
ya kashe kansa