Prison Population The Elderly Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Of the figure indicated in the opening paragraph above, fifty eight percent of the elderly inmates are first time offenders, with just over half of those being incarcerated for terms of twenty years, life or natural life. At the time of the report seventy two men within that group were on death row, over sixteen percent were convicted of their crimes when they were over fifty. Causes With most national research and studies agreeing with the findings of the FCC regarding elderly prison inmates, one has to look at the underlying causes for this situation. Many analysts are concluding that the â€Å"Three Strikes† legislation of 1999, together with other tough sentencing legislation, has been responsible for a significant element of the elderly inmates and will have an increasing impact in the future. Under the conditions set within these laws, people are being incarcerated to serve lengthy terms for what, in other countries, would be considered to be petty crimes. In addition to this one can add the problems of the changing demographics of the adult population. All forecasts are showing that the elderly population is set to rise over the next two decades or more. We will write a custom essay sample on Prison Population The Elderly or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now There is no doubt that the changes within these demographic changes will apply equally to the prison population, resulting in an increase in the numbers of elderly inmates that the authorities will need to cater for. Even if one could address the forgoing causes, there are still issues that would preclude a significant reduction in elderly prisoners. Many States are looking at the question of early parole as an alternative. However, lack of alternative facilities creates difficulties for such a move. As Tom Watson (1996) in his report revealed, prison wardens are experiencing reluctance amongst in the private sector to take on elderly paroled inmates. Whilst this may or may not be understandable, it means that those prisoners are denied parole under State law, which says that parole cannot be granted unless the prospective parolee has a place to go. The other issue is politics, at local, State and National level. Nationally, having recently introduced legislation as described previously, the politicians are reluctant to say they have got it wrong. There is similar reluctance at other political levels. As one professor from Carnegie observed, â€Å"I do have the sense that everyone wants to avoid being the guy who makes the call. No one wants to take the rap for releasing these people. " (Associated Press 2005).