Aging In Prison

The number of people 55 and older serving time in federal and state prisons has tripled since 2007. The majority of those who make up the aging inmate prison population are incarcerated for violent crimes.

These older prisoners are the least likely to be paroled even though they pose a low risk of future violence, this is because parole boards increasingly evaluate their decisions on release based on crime severity and crime type.

In Maine, nearly one of every six prisoners is over the age of 50. Memory loss, chronic illness and physical disability have become challenges for staff at Maine State Prison, who have to balance accommodating for those prisoners while maintaining prison operations.