Aging Offenders in the Prison System

Daniel Trombley

American Military University

Professor Spivey

CMRJ316 Corrections and Incarceration

August 10, 2013

An aging offender or an elderly offender is an individual over the age of 55 who breaks the law or is in prison (Newman). It is also a term that can refer to the concept of an aging prison population or to the unnatural pressures of being incarcerated that accelerate the aging process. Oddly, the number of elderly individuals committing crimes and being sentenced to prison is increasing and that creates problems for the correctional facilities in terms of health care as well as mental and physical issues that the inmates themselves have. Unfortunately, little seems to have changed in the past 30 years regarding elderly inmates. Health care is absolutely a major concern. In many countries including the United States, elderly inmates do not qualify for state funded healthcare. The United States National Institute of Corrections identified that inmates over 60 years old cost three times more than those of a younger age to house in prison. (Aday, 2003) Issues such as chronic health conditions or ailments require constant care as well as continual medication to ease the physical or mental problems. Certain administrative bodies of these institutions claim that medical care for the elderly prisoners is the most costly problem of the aging prison structure. A survey that was conducted of criminals over the age of 55 that were imprisoned for the first time had higher levels of stress and a greater difficulty to adjust. This is both due to the culture shock and to the fact that these first time offenders had led a long, criminal-free life. (Chaneles, 1989) Most find it more difficult to come to terms with breaking the law. Elderly inmates also exhibit physical weakness and mental instability compared to the younger prisoners. Also, getting cut off from their families adds to the stress of these aging offenders. On a more positive note, many elderly inmates are less likely to commit additional crimes. Age is definitely the key factor that decreases the chance of re-offending, and most of the prisoners do not want to continue leading a criminal lifestyle and quickly grow tired of being punished. Interestingly, as a criminal ages, the types of crimes are almost apt to suit the offender in question. Crimes such as embezzlement, fraud, gambling or drunkenness are much easier to commit and sometimes the likelihood of these crimes increases when the person is above the age of 50. Sometimes, in certain states, the aging inmate is released from prison before their term of incarceration is over. There are usually only two reasons for this to occur: terminal illness or a record of incarcerated behavior. (Aday, 2003) There is also a term called compassionate release, which is when an inmate has a terminal disease or illness and is released because their life expectancy is not expected to last much longer. In the case of someone who does not have a terminal illness but has a debilitating one, it is possible that if the condition improves and the inmate has already been released on medical parole that the parole can be revoked and the inmate will be sent back to prison. One interesting concept has to do with whether the inmate should become segregated from the general population or consolidated with it. To date, no state in the United States has any sort of strict policy regarding this issue. (Chaneles, 1989) A study that took place later in 1997 by the National Institute of Corrections found that 23 states have specific services for elderly inmates. Of those 23 states, 15 of them have segregated medical facilities. Still, scholars do not agree on whether the aging inmates should be separated or put in general population. (Aday, 2003) Some administrators feel that the positive aspect of consolidating the elderly inmates with the younger ones stems from opinions that the older inmates will improve the atmosphere of the facility. Others say that consolidation is preferred because it allows older inmates to participate in work details and enroll in educational and vocational programs. (Aday, 2003) There is also easier access for the inmate to see friends and family. Even others may argue that the younger inmates will harm the older ones, but since a study was not done there does not seem to be any sort of safety issue in regards to that issue. Hopefully in the future there will be tools to help with the inherent mess of a rising aging offender population. There is always room for more analysis and reasons to implement programs and policies to address this issue and how to better manage or fix it completely. Surely there must be a way to compromise with either releasing the older inmate, or if they are to remain incarcerated, a way to reduce their stressful environment.

Bibliography

Aday, Ron H. Aging Prisoners: Crisis in American Corrections. 2003.

Chaneles, Cathleen Burnett. Older Offenders: Current Trends. 1989.

Newman, Gewirtz. Is Special Treatment Needed for Elderly Offenders? P. 4