Aging On The Inside

The population is constantly increasing in the United States. Although many know about this population growth, a lot of people do not consider how it affects the elderly. We are now seeing more adults over the age of sixty five than we ever have before in American history. The numbers will only continue to increase as the children of the ‘baby boom’ generation approach their sixties as well. As longevity and average age of life span get higher, as will the number of elderly citizens in the United States. “The growth of the elderly population has significant economic implications for our various institutions and the public policymakers who are responsible for carving out a response to this demographic transition.” (Aday, 2003, p. 2) It only makes sense for the elderly population in American prison systems to increase as the elderly population continues to grow outside of these establishments.

When one thinks about social institutions that older people are placed into, nursing homes tend to be the first thing that come to mind. Yes, it is true that there is a very high percentage of the older population that now live in nursing homes or other facilities like them. However, there is not enough attention focused on the percentage of elderly people in our prison systems. Taking into account people who are arrested over the age of fifty and the older prisoners who have been incarcerated since they were a much younger age, the elderly prison population is a very fast-growing age group in American prison systems today. They require much more attention and funding, as many of these prisoners are in poor health and medical services are in a higher demand for them. In 2003, prisoners 45 years and older accounted for 17.8% of sentenced inmates, up from 13% in 1995 (Fields, 2005). Inmates 50 and older are now the fastest-growing portion of the prison population (Associated Press, 2005), increasing at a rate three times faster than the general prison population. (Reimer, p. 204) Keeping this in mind, it does cost more money to keep an older person in prison than younger offenders. This causes a dilemma for policymakers, because it is becoming too costly to care for all the elderly inmates, but their sentences cannot be reduced due to aging and health status.

For the first time in American history, we are faced with the issue of an aging prison population and how to properly care for and house these people. “…The explosion of the general prison population, AIDS among prisoners, and the complications associated with housing a growing number of mentally ill inmates have significantly challenged our correctional system.” (Aday, 2003, p. 7) Specific to the elderly population, issues such as cancer, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and hypertension, can be very taxing to the prison systems. It is important to recognize how difficult it is to care for ill and aging inmates. Even more so, it is important to recognize how aging on the inside affects the mental and physical well being of elderly inmates. Those who do not have the ability to grow old in place, or age among the company of family and friends, are presumably more likely to have mental deficiencies. Aging is already a difficult thing to overcome, without the added stress of having to age in a correctional facility with limited freedom and often inadequate health care.

This blog will focus on aging inmates in America, specifically those over the age of roughly fifty five. I will explore the gender, race, health, and geographic differences among this group of people and how it affects the psyche of those aging on the inside. Both physical and mental health are hugely impacted when growing old inside the prison system.