Aging in Prison
The Aging Prison Population
Published June 17, 2009 @ 09:24AM PT
As federal and state lawmakers try to trim their budgets this year, they're looking at a solution long considered taboo - releasing long-term prisoners. America's prison population is aging quickly, and states have considered early release for elderly prisoners as a cost-cutting measure. But releasing inmates, especially those who have served decades for crimes like murder and sexual assault, raises ethical questions for society at large: Are these prisoners a threat and, if so, to what extent? Is it fair to the victims, and their survivors, to release criminals before their sentences are up? As our prison populations swell with younger inmates, are the older prisoners getting off easy due to overcrowding and budget fights in state capitals?
According to the most recent federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, 4.3% of all inmates in the U.S. in state or federal prisons, or in local jails, were over the age of 55 as of mid-year 2008, compared with 3.5% at mid-year 2004. That 23% increase easily trumps the 7% increase in overall inmates in U.S. federal and state prisons.
