Elderly Offenders
According to the American Civil liberties report, 246,000 convicts are age 50 and older. At this age group they face many challenges, not only do they go through different challenges, but taxpayer’s money is providing for all the extra services elderly inmates need. An eldedy inmate requires more attention medically than a younger inmate. At what point does an elderly offender stop being dangerous? Is there a way where the elderly inmate number can stop increasing and save the taxpayers money?
Many male and female elderly offenders, ages 50 and older, are facing a lot of health problems like Cancer, blindness, mental disorders, heart disease, and aging. For instance, “Prisons in the United States contain an ever growing
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number of aging men, who cannot readily climb stairs, haul themselves to the top bunk, walk long distances to meals, get dressed, go to the bathroom, or even bathe without help”.
(Old behind Bars the Aging Prison Population in the United States). Incarcerated elderlies need special treatment; they cannot depend on themselves anymore. They are too old and too sick to move. Sixty-three year old inmate, Bruce Harrison, said “I get dizzy sometimes when I’m walking...One time, I just couldn’t get up”. (Story Sari Horwitz). Is it really good idea for an elderly inmate with health problems to be in prison? There comes a point where illness prevents a human to commit anymore crimes, therefore having an ill elderly in prison is just costing money for taxpayers. A different approach can be taken. Assessments of different kinds can be developed in order to assess the illness and evaluate if the inmate is a threat to society. If the inmate is not a threat due to their age and/or illness, then by all means the inmate should be released, this way taxpayer’s money can be saved. At this point in an elderly’s life, they have done most of their time. There are cases where the inmate has a terminal illness and it is just costing money for the taxpayers.
“Generally, the current approaches to dealing with terminally ill inmates are release and provision of prison-based services… “Release” usually occurs in the form of compassionate release, when a dying inmate is released before completing his or her sentence to be allowed to die outside prison walls”. (Thigpen, 2004). A similar approach can be taken to elderly inmates, not only with a terminally illness. Once, an inmate is assessed of how a danger they are to society, they can be released and this could save money. Due to elderly offenders' rate increasing over time, several taxpayers are spending an enormous amount of money every day. In fact, "The costs of caring for elderly prisoners are high and growing...States spend an average of $70,000 a year to incarcerate someone age 50 or older, nearly three times what it costs to house a younger prisoner” (McCarthy).As the elderly inmates grow older, they start to have more health issues than the younger inmates. The money that the taxpayers are sending to prisons can provide the medicine and food that is needed. Just imagine how much just one elderly inmate will cost and how many medicines they will need. Everything is very expensive and it is paid by. Taxpayers are the ones that have to provide all that money in order for the inmate receive what they need. On the other hand, the money that they pay can be used for something that's more important. Instead of taking care of the problem when it’s already too late, taxpayer money can go into programs that help out young adults. This will prevent them from becoming criminals, which will reduce the amount of inmates. Also, taxpayer money could help in providing programs for repetitive criminals. This way, this can avoid the repetitive criminal from committing a crime with a lengthier sentence. During this era, we have seen a tremendous increased of male elderly offenders being sentence to life in prison because of the crimes they have committed like drug offense, rape, armed robbery, and murder. In addition “The population of aging and elderly prisoners in U.S. prisons exploded over the past three decades, with nearly 125,000 inmates aged 55 or older now behind bars”(Rudolf). A lot of these inmates have years in prison, they started their sentence young and have gotten older as years pass. Some of these elderly inmates feel better off in jail rather than free due to the lack of family and services outside in the free world. Jail provides services they do not have outside. However, we could decrease that amount of elderly offenders from the prison by releasing them to their homes or sending them to a nursing home. In that way not only will the taxpayers save money, but there would be more space to incarcerate offenders that have committed minor crimes in the communities. All in all, elderly inmates are an important group of incarcerated people because of the dilemma of whether they are a threat to society when they get to a certain age. At some point in their lives, prison becomes more of an adult daycare rather than a punishment for them. This is unfair for the taxpayer who do not commit crime and follow the laws. Their money should be going elsewhere rather than be wasted on this service. Elderly inmates should be treated like elderly inmates in the free world who have to pay for their insurance. A system similar to the compassionate release should be put in place in order to avoid high taxes on citizens.
When envisioning a prison, one often conceptualizes a grisly scene of hardened rapists and murderers wandering aimlessly down the darkened halls of Alcatraz, as opposed to a pleasant facility catering to the needs of troubled souls. Prisons have long been a source of punishment for inmates in America and the debate continues as to whether or not an overhaul of the US prison system should occur. Such an overhaul would readjust the focuses of prison to rehabilitation and incarceration of inmates instead of the current focuses of punishment and incarceration. Altering the goal of the entire state and federal prison system for the purpose of rehabilitation is an unrealistic objective, however. Rehabilitation should not be the main purpose of prison because there are outlying factors that negatively affect the success of rehabilitation programs and such programs would be too costly for prisons currently struggling to accommodate additional inmate needs.
The article Going grey behind bars by Ginn, Jennifer talks about senior inmates and how having senior inmates is affecting the correctional system. The article gives statistics and information on senior inmates and how it is affecting our correctional system. The article also gives some ideas about how to solve this problem and what correctional system need to do so they can help senior inmates. The article implies that changes need to be made soon and that if changes are not made it will be worse in the future based on statistics. it also talks about cost, and how it is costing correctional agencies lots of money keeping senior inmates, it also explains how using these solutions could save agencies money and how they need to do it.
...t of people who return back to a law breaking mentality after they get released from prison. When you release people instead use these alternatives versus confinement it is less of a waste of expensive resources, taxpayer’s money, as well as time. A medium between control and treatment needs to be met in all of the prisons, or jails. Some men or women need more strict conditions and supervision practices while others may just need more of the services that should be offered such as rehabilitation, and alcohol or drug prevention. Any of these options will not be easy nor diminish this overcrowding issue quickly. It will take time, patience, and cooperation with both the inmates or ex-offenders family, friends, courts as well as law enforcement and jails.
It is right for an elderly person to spend years to even a lifetime in prison? Apparently it seems appropriate to the United States. The elderly inmates are increasing rapidly as well as the cost of their health care. They become a burden in the prison's budget in addition to the citizens of this country. Many of these inmates are past 60 years old and dream of dying after being freed, however end up taking their last breath in a prison cell. Hill, Stella and Parker are examples of elderly in prison who are highly ill and continue to take more and more money while being incarceration under their conditions.
Some inmates have incurable conditions. Troy Reid who had high blood pressure and kidney problems was one (Mendelssohn. p. 295). July of 2007 Reid began to get treated for his kidneys that were shutting down (Mendelssohn. p. 295). Three times a week he would get a kidney dialysis but on April of 2008 he died (Mendelssohn. p. 295). He grown tired of the treatments and decided to die (Mendelssohn. p. 295). From July 2007 to April 2008 taxpayers paid for Reid’s treatments. For some people the treatments that Reid had no point and was just a waste. If inmates that have incurable diseases like Reid’s should not be in prison or jail. They should be released and they them self should pay for the treatment they seek. A lot of money was wasted on Reid; this is a reason they should not pay for inmate health care.
Aftercare programs are used often with juveniles in hopes of preventing recidivism. Recidivism is of high concern to the criminal justice system in that the safety of the public depends on low recidivism rates. Juvenile Incarceration facilities have programs set up, such as education and pro-social behavior classes, to promote bettering the juvenile’s life. However, research has shown that the progress made while incarcerated slowly declines upon release. This is testimony to the importance of aftercare programs in preventing recidivism.
Not all individuals in the prison are the same, therefore should be treated and cared for accordingly to reduce any type of problems in the facility. The prison system would not have to worry if everyone had done their individual jobs correctly and gathered the right type of information to file for any inmate with a certain disability.
The “Tough on Crime” and “War on Drugs” policies of the 1970s – 1980s have caused an over populated prison system where incarceration is policy and assistance for prevention was placed on the back burner. As of 2005, a little fewer than 2,000 prisoners are being released every day. These individuals have not gone through treatment or been properly assisted in reentering society. This has caused individuals to reenter the prison system after only a year of being release and this problem will not go away, but will get worst if current thinking does not change. This change must be bigger than putting in place some under funded programs that do not provide support. As the current cost of incarceration is around $30,000 a year per inmate, change to the system/procedure must prevent recidivism and the current problem of over-crowed prisons.
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.
Many people idealized the relevancy of living in a civilized world, where those who break the law are reprimanded in a less traditional sense of punishment in today’s standard. Instead of just doing hard time, programs and services could and should be provided to reform and rehabilitate prisoner. Despite standard beliefs, many individuals in prison are not harden criminals and violent offenders, many of these people suffer mental illness and substance abuse Hoke
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...
ELDERLY: SHOULD THEY SUFFER IN PRISON OR SIMPLY BE RELEASED? Karenna Cruz American Public University System. This paper will explore the question of whether the elderly imprisoned and in deteriorating health should reside in prison or be released. Should the government continue to house and pay the expenses of keeping the elderly incarcerated, or should they be released if they are simply near the end of their life and are unable to commit any further crimes? The Concerns of Keeping Imprisoned Elderly Offenders Today, there are prisons across the United States of which house elderly inmates who can barely walk, talk, and function within their daily life without the help of prison employees or volunteers.
Although it may not seem like a major problem to most people in the United States, prisons are becoming overcrowded, expensive to maintain and have little to no effect on the moral discipline of inmates. The current prison system is extremely inefficient and the purpose of prisons has been completely forgotten. According to Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, the primary purpose of prisons is to punish, to protect, and to rehabilitate. Not only is there an increase in prisoners, but there is a rise in the number of repeat offenders. Alternatives such as counseling, drug rehabilitation, education, job training and victim restitution must be better enforced and organized. People do not understand the severity of the problem mainly because
In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the nation, sky-rocketed to 708 percent between 1972 and 2008. Today, there are about 145,000 inmates occupying areas only designed for 80,000 (Posner). Peter Mosko, “an assistant professor of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice” (Frazier) stated, “America, with 2.3 million people behind bars, has more prisoners than soldiers” (Frazier). There have been studies that have shown “there are more men and women in prison than ever before. The number of inmates grew by an average of 1,600 a week. The U. S. has the highest rate of crime in the world” (Clark). Because of this influx in inmates, many prisoners’ rights groups have filed lawsuits charging that “overcrowded prisons violate the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment” (Clark). It is clear that the United States corrections system needs to be reformed in order to eliminate this problem. Prison overcrowding is a serious issue in society due to the fact it affects prison ...