The Cost of Aging Prison Inmates Essay - 1495 Words

The issue with aging prison members is that our legal system spends a majority of the money on our older inmates than our younger members. The three-strike rule in the United States is a big factor on why we have such a high rate with older inmates in our prisons. We imprison older members for life after they have committed more than three felonies regardless of the crime. That leads to our legal system being stuck with a lot of aging inmates. Our legal system has to pay more money in order to accommodate our older inmates because they require more medical needs. The Criminal justice system is spending a significant amount of money on our elderly sick inmates even though they are unable to commit any more crimes, leading to more problems†¦show more content†¦Mental illnesses are extremely pricy and dangerous. The staff has to be extra cautions with mentally disabled prisoners because they are more dangerous. The prison system does not have enough money to be able to maintain high-risk prisoners. â€Å"The average cost of keeping an older inmate incarcerated is about $69,000 a year†(Regan) it’s an outrageous amount of money. A Tennessee State prison gave Dr. Regan, Alderson, and Dr. William Regan gave data on older inmates who had mental illnesses. The study focused on the population and their mental disorder and the crime committed. 671 prisoners where tested in the study and 109 people where diagnosed with a mental illness: Out of the 109 people with a mental disorder only 13% where women and 87% where men. The most common crime for both genders with a mental disorder was murder. Women who committed murder suffered from depression illness. Men who committed crime in their older age committed sex crimes and where diagnosed with dementia. Our prisons are not equipped to be able to handle mentally disable prisoners. Mentally disorder people need to be in a mental house that can help them. It is not right to incarcerate someone who is sick . A great study conducted by Dr. Williams consisted of gathering workers in the prisons who worked with elderly inmates: 29 experts where chosen of which 19 were men and 10 were women. The goal and purpose of the study was to find a possible solution to helpShow MoreRelatedSolving The Problem Of An Aging Prison Population1250 Words   |  5 Pagesof an Aging Prison Population Joshua N. Handy American Military University Abstract The American correctional system is facing many emerging issues. One of these issues is the exponential increase in aging offenders. In the past few decades, the number of geriatric offenders incarcerated has multiplied at an increasing rate. 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This places the United States at number one in the world for its incarceration rate. The US has 5% of the worlds population but 245% of the worlds prisoners. In addition to this there are 4.8 million adults on probation of parole and 70,792 juveniles in juvenile detention. In 2008 the breakdown for adults underRead MoreReform, Means Improvement : Prison Reform Essay1558 Words   |  7 PagesReform, means improvement. Prison reform , means the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, establishing a more effective penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. The penal system is part of the larger criminal justice system. Prison reformation, is not just about the justice system or the criminal justice system. 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