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The high costs of an aging prison population

By Douglas A. Berman

The Richmond Times Dispatch has two strong articles in its Sunday edition about the challenges states face in dealing with an aging prison populations.  It also has this remarkable slideshow, which is a must-watch  Here are snippets from this main article, headlined "Growing old behind bars:" Like the rest of the country, Virginia is coping with a growing number of aging inmates.... In 1999, Virginia had 2,015 prisoners 50 or older.  Today, there are almost 4,700, and by 2011, state officials expect there to be 5,057. A drop in the number of paroles granted to inmates who remain eligible is a factor in Virginia's increasing number of older inmates. Truth-in-sentencing reforms that in 1995 led to stiffer, no-parole sentences for violent crimes are expected to contribute to Virginia's aging prison population in coming years...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 04, 2009 (boomark / email).