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| Medical Care Saps Mich. Prisons |
| By The Detroit News |
| Published: 01/02/2006 |
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Withered by a heart attack and stroke, John Richmond has trouble walking and getting out of bed. Once considered dangerous, he's sometimes overwhelmed by chairs that won't release him from their clutches. Old cons like Richmond, 73, sentenced up to 30 years at Michigan's Lakeland Correctional Facility, are quickly becoming the face of prisons in the United States. The number of inmates older than 60 has jumped 62 percent in six years. Their medical costs are eating up an already strapped Michigan budget, preventing the state from spending on schools and other needs. Health care for Michigan prisoners has jumped 50 percent in six years, from $120 million to $181 million. But the financial hemorrhaging is avoidable, say criminologists. They said many geriatric jailbirds can be released from prison without posing a threat to society. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who has worked with elderly prisoners, said study after study has shown that age is the best criteria to determine whether parolees will return to crime. A federal Justice Department report found in 1990 that 2 percent of men paroled after age 55 return to prison. For men ages 18-24, the figure was 22 percent. "You're facing a serious crisis," Turley said. "Most states will hit a demographic wall, and they're not prepared." |
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