Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience
New Books Network podcast: Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience
“The demographics of U.S. prisons are changing, as are demographics outside of them: an increasing share of the population is growing old. The number of people aged 55 and older in state and federal prisons from 1999 to 2016 leapt by 280 percent, compared to an increase of just 3 percent for adults below 55. With age come other concerns, perhaps most notably mental and physical health, as well as loneliness. For incarcerated individuals, there are added twists to these concerns: lack of access to good healthcare, lack of adequate mental and physical stimulation, and isolation from friends and family. In addition, research shows the aging process is significantly accelerated by prison life, such that someone in prison may show declines similar to those of a community-dweller 15 years older.
“These are among the disturbing facts that Tina Maschi, Professor of Social Work at Fordham University, and Keith Morgen, an associate professor of psychology at Centenary University, use to present a dire situation in the United States criminal justice system in Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience (Columbia UP, 2020). The problem-based system with its binary view of offender and victim serves no one well, they write. It is tremendously expensive – about $16 billion of the $77 billion that U.S. state and federal governments spend annually to run correctional facilities goes to health care for older adults, while caring for an incarcerated individual 50 or older costs $68,000 per year, compared to $34,000 for someone under 50. But more importantly, there is an achingly high moral cost to the criminal justice approach, the authors contend.”
Additional reading:
Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience on bookshop.org
Aging in Prison by Jessica Earnshaw
PBS, November 16, 2021: America’s prison population is aging, but care options for older parolees remain limited
