When
an individual commits a particularly heinous crime, they are usually ordered to
a lengthy sentence which strips the person of many, if not all, of their
precious adult years. For many free citizens, this seems to be the end of
problem. The solution has been set in place; the individuals are out of
the vulnerable public and locked away to serve their determined sentence.
However, with many of the baby boomer individuals maturing into their golden
years, they are beginning to require extra care which the prison systems are
struggling to accommodate. The present prison facilities were never
designed to house such old and frail individuals. The daily regimen was not centered around the elderly
individuals and their aging bodies. Studies show that the
prison lifestyle “accelerates the aging process by an average of 11.5
years.”Since these maturing individuals are more
susceptible to disease and ailment, “older prisoners incur medical costs that
are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners.” With issues of human suffering coming into play, actions must be
taken in order to solve the injustices. Clearly, debilitating ailments
plague these individuals physically, emotionally, and psychologically through
their years of segregation outside of normal society and health care. Thus,
questions are being raised such as; what is happening to these older
individuals? What needs to be done? And whether or not they deserve altered
treatment in order to sufficiently meet their needs as a human being and to
keep them from further suffering?
Many new adjustments to the American prison system over the last 30 years have
greatly altered the amount of individuals who are currently serving time in
prison. These reasons include the implementation
of “laws that increased the likelihood and length of prison sentences,
including by establishing mandatory minimum sentences and three strikes laws,
and by increasing the number of crimes punished with life and life without-
parole sentences. In addition... the legislators sought to increase the amount
of time prisoners would serve in prison before release, for example by
establishing truth-in-sentencing conditions that require 85 percent or more of
a prison sentence be served before the inmate becomes eligible for release, and
by making some crimes ineligible for parole.” The
preceding reasons explain not only why the amount of prisoners in general has
grew so greatly since 1980 but also why there is such a large influx of the
elderly in prison. All of these new strict policies plague the aging and
dying individuals to be stuck with their sentences regardless of how close they
are to death. Do these individuals deserve this? Now, one may consider that with an influx of prisoners in
total, the elderly inmates would be proportional to the younger inmates. This, however, is completely false. The rate of elderly prisoners from 1995 to 2010 has been
“growing by 282 percent compared to a 42.1 percent increase in the prison population.” This extreme statistic shows how
this problem will not soon diminish on its own. Without action soon,
these many elders will be doomed to horrid conditions and a lack of just
treatment due to diminishing budgets and lack of a formidable system which allows the proper care of the elderly to be taken. From the graph below, one can see that these numbers are not a fluke and just between 2007 and 2010 how great the influx really is for the elderly inmates.
In prison, it is truly the “little” things that matter to the inadequately
stimulated mind and body of inmates. With little else to cause
happiness, inspire hope, or engage their brains, recreational activities and small jobs held
within the prisons are detrimental to keeping these struggling humans
sane. A sense of self worth and pride, even if it is through seemingly
unimportant tasks, is extremely important to the prisoner’s health and well
being. Without something to occupy their mind, inmates can quickly become
mentally unstable in such a monotonous place. Who
are these recreational tasks and jobs aimed towards though? Human Rights
Watch stated that these elderly inmates “rarely have the benefit of programs to
address the realities of aging or to help them understand and protect their
health in later years. Many of the older prisoners we interviewed have little
to do besides read, watch television, or talk to each other.” With recent budget cuts on many prisons, recreational
activities aimed at mature inmates are dwindling even more so. Even after
these cuts, the social and educational programs which are kept in place also
“targets offenders who will be released in 3 years.” Thus, many facilities that have these programs do not have them aimed
towards individuals who are doomed to be in the system for a long
time. This will result in an individual who has nothing left to do but to
become consumed by their own thoughts. This can have detrimental effects on the
prisoner's psychological well being. Over time, the lack of interaction
and activities can have extremely grim effects. "The Prison reform Trust's work in 2008... interviewed 78 male prisoners, 18 ex-prisoners and held two focus groups with women prisoners. It concluded that 'poor regimes and lack of engagement with older people' resulted in isolation, and a lack of planning for resettlement meant that older people were not getting the services they needed when returning to the community." (Duffin 3) Despite many prison’s
short comings with providing alternate care for the elderly, some are making
changes. At one Women’s prison facility
in San Diego, the prison warden allows for some small privileges for the
elderly prisoner’s who have become known as the “Golden Girls.” These alternate privileges include “two
mattresses on their metal cot and first in line for meals.” Below is a video of Glenda Virgil, a prisoner
at this facility who is going on 23 years of incarceration for the second
degree murder of her abusive husband.
She talks of the other special privileges in this prison and their
importance in her rough life behind bars.
In prison, proving your dominance
over other prisoners is key to survival and showing you’re not an open target.
The weak are always the first to be targeted in the prison system because
weak and non combative prey is always the easiest target. These actions
on the weak “can range in gravity from homicide, severe physical assaults, and
vicious rapes to more minor acts of harassment, extortion, theft, or
humiliation.” Where does this leave the prey,
particularly the elderly? These once young, spry, and fiery youth have
become more obedient and mellow individuals with age. It is difficult, if not
impossible for these aged individuals to prove a formidable opponent for a
young aggressor. Human Rights Watch found that “corrections officials and
incarcerated men and women we interviewed agreed that the elderly as a group
are far less likely to cause trouble than younger inmates." They don’t “mess
with staff,” they “just want to be left alone,” and they “get along better with
each other than younger guys.” These individuals
seem to be much more concerned about just doing their time rather than causing
trouble for the officers or other inmates. Thus, these elderly and weak individuals can
fall prey to young and selfish youth who are concerned little of the treatment
of others, including their elders. Despite the watchful eye of
the prison officials, many demeaning and wrongful behavior occurs behind
bars. Do these suffering elderly deserve this? What can be a solution for
this problem? Some suggest that “the right to safe conditions of
confinement may mean not being required to live in a dorm with younger persons
prone to violence and extortion.” This would
require current prison systems to make a major adjustment to current situations
which are in place in present prisons.
Such radical adjustments to the current prison system would require a
massive amount of funding in order to sufficiently develop a system capable of segregating the elderly. Thus, great support for the movement would be required to cause enough notice for change. Below is a video of Terry Campbell, a man whom is serving life in prison for first degree murder at R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Campbell, who already has 44 years of incarceration under his belt, is 65 years old and dwindling in the prison system. Campbell talks about how his prison life at first involved gang affiliations and violence, later on moving to a more peaceful life in prison due to the consideration of one prison guard.
With the previously mentioned budget
cuts playing into prison’s placement of precious institute money, a variety of
other manners are being taken in order to aid these suffering individuals. A prison institute located in Florida is
among those making thrifty adjustments in order to better serve their sick and
elderly. “A key element to
the clinics is a computerized program that, in part, tracks appointments so
physician and nursing time is not wasted. Beyond the financial aspects, chronic
care clinics also provide a more stable environment to manage disease and
illness and offer a better chance to educate patients about their condition and
how to treat it, said Susan Laffan, RN, of Specialized Medical Consultants,
LLC, of Toms River, NJ." This example shows how small changes, such as
being more efficient and educating inmates on how to treat their ailments can
have a positive effect on treatment and care for the sick and suffering.
Also, “other innovations… include introducing hospice care for dying
inmates and fellowships for medical students to learn geriatrics while caring
for the older inmate population.” I feel that this is one of the most positive
changes which could be put in place in prison facilities. This adjustment would allow not only the
suffering and dying individuals to leave this Earth in a more comfortable environment
minimizing their ultimate suffering but also provides a learning opportunity to
these medical students. Better education
of the ailments these elderly prisoners face could not only teach the students
more about geriatrics in general but also on the specific problems plaguing
these inmates. More research into
these ailments could result in more knowledge on specific aspects of prison
life which cause human beings to age so drastically in this environment, allowing them to be adjusted accordingly. Martin L. Plevak, director of the Florida
Department of Corrections, while at a Chicago conference “suggested increasing the
use of volunteers to improve the health delivery environment at little cost.” This
yet again minimizes the cost of these services which would provide the elderly
with better care at little cost to the institutes.
The
dilemma of aging prisoners is a serious concern in the United States that needs
to be brought to light. Without any
steps being taken to fix this growing problem, we will face an even bigger
problem down the road. Adjustments to
current laws and policies will need to be considered in order to aid in the
solution. The remodeling of prison
systems or segregation of prisoners by age would remain an extremely adequate, yet costly solution. Thus, until more money can be budgeting to prisons, minute changes need to be made in order to give these suffering human beings a chance at minimal suffering and optimal care. Changes such as more efficient computerized systems, use of medical students, and use of volunteers prove positive alternatives to changing the care of the dying. In all, many aspects of the current prison system will need to be be manipulated to fix this problem. Without a wealth of people to support this cause, it is more than likely any calls to action will be ignored.
Duffin, Christian. "Doing Time: Health Care In The Criminal Justice System."Nursing Older People22.10 (2010): 14-18.Academic Search Complete. Print.
Mitka, Mike. "Aging Prisoners Stressing Health Care System." JAMA: Journal Of The American Medical Association 292.4 (2004): 423-424. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2012
