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Aging Prisoners: A Crisis in Need of Intervention

NCJ Number
236244
Editor(s)
Tina Maschi, Mary Beth Morrissey, Russ Immarigeon, Samantha L. Sutfin
Date Published
February 2012
Length
147 pages
Annotation

This White Paper - which is a follow-up to a forum on the aging prisoner crisis hosted by Fordham University's "Be the Evidence Project" - includes contributions by nationally and internationally known scholars and practitioners who have focused their work on the crisis of older adults involved in the criminal justice system, especially as prison inmates.

Abstract

The paper is divided into four parts: the introduction and overview; public health, mental health, palliative, and end-of-life issues; criminal justice policies and practices; and interdisciplinary collaboration and community partnerships. The introduction notes that the increase in older adult prisoners is not due to a crime surge among older adult offenders, but rather is the result of the enactment of stricter sentencing laws, such as "Three Strikes, You're Out" and "Truth-in-Sentencing" laws (Aday, 2003). As stated through this paper, older adults in prison have documented physical and mental health problems, including dementia and histories of trauma and chronic stress. Over 3,000 of these older men and women will die in prison each year (James and Glaze, 2006; Maruschak, 2008; Maschi, Kwak, Ko and Morrissey, 2012). The correctional system is not prepared to address the complex bio-psychosocial and long-term health-care needs of older adults. Neither is it able to bear the costs, which are three times higher for older than for younger prisoners (Chiu, 2010; Kinsella, 2004). Many older adults who are released into the community are disadvantaged by stigma and lack of access to community resources such as Social Security income, housing, and medical care (Maschi and Morrissey, 2012). This paper includes comments by older adults in prison about their pathways to prison, the stressful conditions of confinement, and their concerns about reentry into the community. Fifteen research briefs and full-length articles address the aforementioned issues. Chapter references