American Government

Challenges to Aging in Prison, Including Causes and Solutions

From the beginning of time, prison systems have been utilized as facilities for punishment for perpetrators of serious crimes. While this approach has aided the rehabilitation of criminal elements in society, it has been plagued with the challenge of aging inmates. With health issues such as contraction of chronic diseases taking the largest share, other challenges to aging in prison touch on increased prison costs are incurred.

Challenges to aging in prison are brought about by numerous causes. The most prominent cause touches on the continuous surge of older inmates, which brings the average age of inmates to be 33 years (Aday, 2003). According to the National Research Council (2014), the percentage of prisoners in federal and state prisons aged 55 and older increased by 33% from 2000 to 2005 while the prison population grew by 8%. This statistical data reveals that every year the number of incarcerations increases, thereby making prison systems congested. This assertion leads to increases in prison operating costs as the treatment of health diseases overburdens the prison systems.

The most prudent solution to the challenges of aging in prison resonates around an early release. This approach seeks to identify with the approaches in which older ex-convicts attain compassionate release or parole (Button, 2018). Inmates aged 50 and above are less likely to commit misconduct in the prison systems. In the same manner, they are far less likely to commit recidivism once released (Button, 2018). These attributes make the older inmates as the best candidates for release and as such, a credible solution for the challenges to aging in prison.

In conclusion, prison systems still present the best avenues for the rehabilitation of criminals. This assertion, however, presents the understanding that the older the inmates get, the more they become susceptible to diseases that impact prison operational costs. All in all, it is through these attributes that beget the acknowledgment of challenges to aging in prison.

Reference

Aday, Ronald H. (2003). Aging Prisoners: Crisis in American Corrections. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-97123-6

Button, O. (2018). The aging prison population - Today's challenges and tomorrow's solution. Retrieved from https://blog.uniteus.com/aging-prison-population-todays-challenges-and-tomorrows-solution

National Research Council. (2014). The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18613.