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| AGING AMERICA: Prisons struggle with challenges posed by the surging numbers of older inmates |
| By newser.com - DAVID CRARY - AP |
| Published: 01/27/2012 |
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In corrections systems nationwide, officials are grappling with decisions about geriatric units, hospices and medical parole as elderly inmates _ with their high rates of illness and infirmity _ make up an ever increasing share of the prison population. At a time of tight state budgets, it's a trend posing difficult dilemmas for policymakers. They must address soaring medical costs for these older inmates and ponder whether some can be safely released before their sentences expire. The latest available figures from 2010 show that 8 percent of the prison population _ 124,400 inmates _ was 55 or older, compared to 3 percent in 1995, according to a report being released Friday by Human Rights Watch. This oldest segment grew at six times the rate of the overall prison population between 1995 and 2010, the report says. . Read More. |
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