Elderly prisoners
Elderly prisoners, defined as inmates typically aged 55 and older, represent a growing demographic within correctional facilities, largely due to longer sentencing policies and the aging baby boomer population. This shift presents unique challenges for corrections administrators, who must address the distinct healthcare, housing, and recreational needs of aging inmates. As with the general population, elderly prisoners face common health issues such as heart disease, cancer, and dementia, often exacerbated by prior unhealthy lifestyles. Correctional facilities are legally obligated to provide adequate healthcare, but many struggle with limited resources to meet these demands. Moreover, the classification of elderly inmates is complex; while many may be physically weaker, some possess significant criminal influence and can pose risks to others. Additionally, their dietary requirements and recreational capabilities differ from younger inmates, necessitating tailored programs and provisions to enhance their quality of life. As society increasingly acknowledges the needs of senior citizens outside of prison, there remains a significant gap in the attention afforded to elderly inmates within correctional systems.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Elderly prisoners
SIGNIFICANCE: Aging prison inmates present challenges to corrections administrators that go beyond the normal issues of custody and control in confinement settings.
With the advent of public policy encouraging longer sentences and the aging of the baby boomer population born shortly after World War II, the number and percentage of elderly inmates confined in American prisons and local jails has increased dramatically. The special challenges presented by elderly inmates reflect similar experience in the mainstream of American life. Those who are confined at older ages or those who grow old in confinement require different healthcare systems, different recreational and rehabilitation programs, special housing, different hygiene care, and different diets. They even have different preferences for the items sold in prison commissaries. Although free society is attuned to the interests of senior citizens outside prisons, most correctional institutions are struggling to meet the needs of elderly incarcerated persons.
One of the greatest challenges to corrections officials is providing adequate health care to aging inmates. Deteriorating health is a natural function of aging and elderly inmates face the same debilitating illnesses as those on the outside. Moreover, inmate health is typically worsened by prisoners’ use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and other manifestations of unhealthy lifestyles. Correctional administrators are required by law to provide the same standards of health care to inmates that free members of society expect, but they often lack sufficient resources to deal with serious and lingering diseases, such as heart conditions, AIDS , cancer, and dementia.
Debilitating long-term medical conditions frequently require concerted and expensive medical care to preserve life or provide an acceptable quality of life. Some prison systems have developed hospice care inside their facilities to care for terminally ill inmates. Their goal is to keep such patients comfortable and allow them to come to terms with their coming deaths. In some prison systems, administrators seek compassionate releases from incarceration for terminally ill inmates.
Inmate-classification systems, which assign housing, programs, and privileges to inmates, make the safety of inmates a priority. Such systems face unique challenges in classifying aging inmates. On one hand, most elderly inmates are physically weaker than younger inmates; however, some possess criminal sophistication that allows them to continue to present serious dangers to other inmates, staff, and prison guards. Older and more sophisticated inmates are often respected and renowned prison gang members who control the activities of fellow inmates. Because of the danger such inmates can present, they may be confined in the most secure settings that the prisons have. On the other hand, elderly inmates who are serving time for their first offenses may need to be protected from younger inmates who prey on the weak. Thus, no single formula exists for classifying aging inmates.
Older inmates often have special dietary and recreational needs. They may not be capable of playing common recreational games and need alternative exercise programs to maintain health and fitness. Human metabolism slows down as people age, so elderly inmates may require smaller meals with different food values. Even the range of items sold at inmate commissaries may need to be expanded to offer snacks and hygiene items preferred by aging inmates.
Bibliography
Allen, H. E., C. E. Simonsen, and E. J. Latessa. Corrections in America. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2004.
Anderson, Meg. "The US Prison Population is Rapidly Graying. Prisons Aren't Built for What's Coming." NPR, 11 Mar. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/03/11/1234655082/prison-elderly-aging-geriatric-population-care. Accessed 26 June 2024.
California Department of Corrections. Older Inmates: The Impact of an Aging Inmate Population on the Correctional System: An Internal Planning Document for the California Department of Corrections. Sacramento: California Department of Corrections, 1999.
Hackett, Michael. The Impact of an Aging Inmate Population in Local Detention Facilities by the Year 2003. Sacramento: California Commission on Peace Officer’s Standards and Training Library, 1999.
Johnson, R. Hard Time: Understanding and Reforming the Prison. 3d ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2002.
Leigey, Margaret E. “Growing Old in Prison” The Forgotten Men. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2015. 131–159. Critical Issues in Crime and Society.
Widra, Emily. "The Aging Prison Population: Causes, Costs, and Consequences." Prison Policy Initiative, 2 Aug. 2023, www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/08/02/aging/. Accessed 26 June 2024.