The Graying Inmate: An Accelerating Crisis

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the troubling phenomenon of an aging prison population in America. The paper looks at the threats posed by chronic ailments common to old age as well as the shortcomings of the current system when it comes to assisting the elderly. The paper further explains that chief among these shortcomings is the lack of a universal, national program or curriculum for meeting the needs of prisoners above the age of 50. The paper also examines some different options available to policy-makers eager to improve the situation. The paper then suggests that far from being mutually exclusive, many of these programs can serve as individual parts of a multi-pronged assault on the problem of the geriatric within the prison system of the United States. In conclusion, the paper shows that strong diagnostic and predictive capabilities, an on-going treatment program that reaches beyond release, recreational activities, and universal standards are all things that, working in tandem with specialized geriatric units, can save lives and make American prisons more humane.

From the Paper:

"The American population is growing steadily older - literally year by year. This phenomenon has obvious and very serious implications for the nation's social welfare policies, but it also does not bode well for the United States prison system insofar as a graying prison population means the diversion of more and more scarce resources towards tending to the elderly individuals (or those individuals in late middle age) who happen to be behind bars. What the next several pages intend to show is that, while far from perfect in its response, the United States prison system is belatedly taking steps to assist those over 50 who are being held in our country's incarceration facilities; now what the US penal system needs to do is to work towards a universal geriatric prisoner care policy that will involve all states and hold all states rigidly accountable if they deviate from that policy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abner, C. (2006). Graying prisons. State News (Council of State Governments), 49(10): 8-11.
• Brodsky, S. L., & Scogin, F. R. (1988). Inmates in protective custody: First data on emotional effects. Forensic Reports, 1(4): 267-280.
• Chaneles, S. (1987). Growing old behind bars. Psychology Today, 21(10): 46-51.
• Dopson, L. (2005). No bars to better care. Nursing Older People, 17(1): 47.
• Falter, R. G. Selected predictors of health services needs of inmates over the age of 50. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 6(2): 149-175.

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