Aging in Correctional Custody (Essay Sample)

Aging in correctional custody
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Aging in correctional custody
The increase in the number of elderly inmates in correctional facilities has initiated discussions regarding the procedures and programs that are currently being used in the correctional facilities. This is mainly because of the preservation of constitutional and human rights while at the same time not compromising the appropriateness of the punishment is a key issue that requires to be scrutinized. The increased expenditure on the elderly has led to the questioning of the appropriateness of the setting for older and elderly inmates. The increased number poses new challenges that are highly costly for the US criminal justice system, as well as state economies and communities to which the elderly inmates are expected to return. This has led to the implementation of early release programs or the putting up of separate facilities for the geriatric population. This paper will allow for a comprehensive analysis of the problems, prospective practices, as well as, current protocols regarding the elderly in correctional facilities.
Stakeholders in prison health facilities have been quoted saying that the quality of healthcare that is provided to inmates is generally better than what is provided to the general population (Stal, 2012). This situation has been brought forward by the Bill of Rights that is stipulated in the U.S constitution. The rights that are guaranteed by the constitution have resulted to a highly revered society that is relatively well balanced and harmonious. The U.S citizens that are convicted and are expected to complete a prison sentence lose their privileges as members of the society and are therefore expected to lose certain rights. The drafters of the constitution were alive to the fact that a just approach when it comes to criminals maybe problematic thus they provided various provisions to act as a safeguard (Williams, Stern, Mellow, Safer, & Greifinger, 2012).
The comments made by analysts in the Prison health care are in accordance to the U.S constitution. It is appropriate that healthcare is in the least adequate for all inmates since neglect of healthcare would be in breach of the Eighth Amendment. The report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that by the end of 2001, the annual amount spent on inmates was at $22,650 while that under the jurisdiction of the federal government, the cost per person was $22632. This statistics indicate that the elderly and old inmates that required supplementary medical aid resulted to an increase in expenditure by both the Federal and the State government.
The expenditure on medical aid in the same year for the inmates in state prisons was at $3.3 billion. The Federal Bureau of Prisons registered an increase in the amount that is spent on health care by over $210 billion. This was between years 2000 and 2004. Some critics have attributed this surge to the increase in the prison population in the same time span. Nonetheless, an increase in older and the elderly in correctional facilities is a major contributor to this situation and on that requires special attention (Williams, Stern, Mellow, Safer, & Greifinger, 2012).
The prison-based health care centers are expected to provide health care to the elderly persons that have multiple chronic diseases that are highly costly to treat. This includes the adults with heart failure and diabetes. The Eighth Amendment provides for the rights of inmates to be provided with appropriate medical aid for various medical conditions. The challenge lies with the fact that most healthcare and service providers in the criminal justice system are not fully equipped to provide quality cost effective healthcare for the elderly. The elderly and older adults account for the escalating healthcare costs in correctional facilities and pose new challenges that are highly costly to the criminal justice system.
The prison population has been rapidly and steadily ageing in the recent past. Despite the situation, a consensus as to what age an inmate’s becomes geriatric or elderly is yet to be reached. This has been a subject of research with various research studies and The National Institute of corrections setting it at 50 years. Separate research studies and the Bureau of Justice statistics have set it at 55 years with the 2007 census categorizing the inmates in age groups 55 to 59, 60 to 64, and 65 years or older (Chodos, Ahalt, Cenzer, Myers, Goldenson, & Williams, 2014).
According to t...