Older Inmates

Older inmates are defined as those 50 years of age or higher when people hear the word inmate, they usually think of a younger males in such minorities. In the past statistics minorities between the ages of 18 and 27 made up almost half of the inmate population in America. America's prison population has traditionally been young and poor, but in recent years it has been changing and aging. Aging of the prison population is increasing and causing issues such as affordable health care, costs, and the construction of geriatric prisons.   In 1997 American prisons held 37,342 offenders over the age of 55, a more than 50% increase in the elderly population in the last three years (Clear & Cole, 2000). According to a June 2012 American Civil Liberties report an estimated 246,000 number of elderly Americans doing hard time is swelling at a staggering rate and will only continue to grow over time.

Hospice and end-of-life programs have been developed in prisons

First, our prison system is based on punishment, not rehabilitation. Second, the adjustment of living in the "free world" after being incarcirated is huge (even though not a documenary, "Shawshank Redemption" goes into this). Lastly, if they've been in prison for a long time, I doubt they have enough credits to qualify for Social Security or Medicare. How would they make money or pay for medical care when they probably won't be able to find a job due to age, lack of skills, and a criminal record?

If you really think that all prisoners should be released at the magical age of 65, then you must be shockingly naive about the true nature of the crimes many of them have committed, and will continue to commit given half a chance. You must also misunderstand what a 65-year-old is capable of doing. Barring severe physical disability, which is usually not the case, a 65-year-old can kill, rape, and torture just as easily as anyone else.

There are 65+ year old serial killers in prison who would murder dozens...