Elderly People In Prisons

The number of men and women age fifty-five years and older has increased greatly, from roughly 32,600 in 1995 to about 124,400 in 2010. It has increased by 282 percent. The number of elderly people in prison affects the United States in many ways. It has cost the United States billions of dollars to provide the medical treatment and housing that aging prisoners need. Older prisoners costs two to three times more than the younger offenders do (Metla).

Different states and prisons consider a certain age old. Most prisons consider older person to be between the ages of 50 years old and 65 years old (Holman). Some states combine older prisoners with the sick ones. Surveys of state Departments of Corrections show that in 1979 there were only 6,500

At the end of 1993, 2003, and 2013, at least twenty-seven percent of state prisoners age fifty-five or older were sentenced for sexual assault, including rape. More than four times as many prisoners fifty-five or older were admitted to state prisons in 2013 than in 1993. There was a significant increase in the number of older prisoners within these years (Carson). The majority of elderly people in prison are male. Females make up only six percent of aging prisoners. Also, forty-two percent of aging inmates are white, thirty-three percent are white, and around fifteen percent are Hispanic. Prisons that have an aging population seem to resemble a nursing home more than a correctional facility. Inmates age faster if they are in prison than they would if they were not. Inmates are not eligible for federal insurance programs by are required to receive treatment. According to Law Street, older inmates age faster than middle aged inmates. Their physiological age is seven to ten years faster due to poor diet, exercise habits, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse. Older inmates, also, comprise the largest share of all prison deaths. From 2001 to 2007, 8,486 elderly inmates died in prison. The number of deaths increased almost twelve percent , from almost thirty-four percent in 2001 to almost forty-six percent in 2007