More than one out of every 10 prisoners in Indiana is above the age of 55, raising healthcare costs and creating potential security problems.
That's according to a new report about America's aging prison population from the American Civil Liberties Union and a research center at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs.
The report, released Monday, blames “outdated” and “extreme” sentencing laws for the fast-growing population, which makes up about 15% of prisoners today. That's up from three percent in 1991.
“Prisons were never designed to serve as makeshift nursing homes, yet that is exactly what they have become,” according to lead author Alyssa Gordon, legal fellow at the ACLU’s National Prison Project.
“Keeping people locked up into old age does nothing to make us safer, but it guarantees needless suffering and ballooning costs for taxpayers.”
In Indiana, incarcerated people over 55 years old make up more than 13% of the state’s nearly 25,000 prisoners, according to the report.
While Indiana's share is lower compared to other states, caring for aging prisoners cost the state about $20 million for medical services in 2021, according to the report. It was about half of that 10 years ago.
The researchers argued that money that could be better spent elsewhere, and most of the population receiving it could be safely released, as most elderly prisoners do not reoffend after leaving custody.
Inside prison, however, they face more risks than younger prisoners due to inadequate healthcare and abuse from other inmates, the report said.
It recommended reducing the aging prison population by expanding compassionate release and repealing laws that require heavy sentences.
