“When I came here and saw the elderly population, I said, ‘God, well, why are they here? Our name is Corrections to correct deviant behavior (but) there’s nothing to correct in these guys; they’re harmless…(Y)ou actually create victims by not letting (elderly prisoners) go and us(ing) your resources on rehabilitation for the ones that are going to get out…” — Warden Burl Cain, Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
The aging process is afflicting nearly all elderly prisoners in U.S. prisons.
The graying of the prisoner population is the outcome of several important demographic trends, according to a recent study by the American Civil Liberty Union titled At America’s Expense; The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly.
Tough sentencing guidelines that eliminate probation or home arrest as options are putting more elderly behind bars, according to the report.
Many men and women began serving their sentences as youngsters but have become seniors due to strict policies and pressures from state Legislatures that block early releases of elderly prisoners, the report finds.
Some older Americans have turned to crime because of economic hardship. Their offenses include passing bad checks, shoplifting (often involving the theft of food), DUI arrests, and other nonviolent crimes, the report finds.
Some men and women serving life sentences, who have been “programming” according to required participation by parole boards have been in prison long past their eligible release dates.
Joe Ybarra, 79, said he has a bad back, a prostrate problem, severe headaches, and is on high blood pressure medication. Ybarra is a frail man weighing approximately 130 pounds. “Just like everyone else, I have hope that I will see the streets again before I die,” he said.
Ybarra was sentenced to 15 years to life, plus an additional five years, in San Francisco for second-degree murder in 1979. The parole board rejected Ybarra’s application 14 times despite his age and medical ailments and disciplinary free prison record.
From 1980 to 2010, the U.S. prison population grew more than 11 times faster than the general population. The state and federal prison population increased by more than 400 percent, according to the ACLU.
California’s prison population has decreased from 175,000 to approximately 119,000 since the federal court’s 2010 intervention. But the elderly population has continued to increase, according to corrections reports.
Prisoners age 50 and older are considered “elderly” because they are exposed to unhealthy conditions during incarceration, according to the National Institute of Corrections. Thus, they age faster than freemen.
In 1981, 8,853 state and federal prisoners age 55 and older were in prisons. Currently, the number is 124,900. Experts project by 2030 there will be more than 400,000. In other words, the elderly prison population is expected to increase by 4,400 percent during this 50-year span. The estimate does not include prisoners ages 50-54.
In 1992, New York City native Vinny Leone was convicted of kidnapping in Los Angeles County. He is serving a seven-to-life sentence plus eight years for a weapon. Leone, 73, says he has taken full responsibility for his crime, but he has been denied parole four times for “lack of insight,” according to parole board records.
Leone, despite his age, works every day on San Quentin’s upper yard keeping it ship-shape, hoping for a shot at freedom before it’s too late. “All I can do is keep doing the right thing. Hopefully I’ll have my shot at freedom where I can still do constructive things in the community,” said Leone.
State and federal governments spend approximately $75 billion annually to run the penal system, according to a 2010 study by Center for Economic Policy Research. www.cepr.net
Over the last 25 years, state corrections spending grew by 67 percent, substantially outpacing the growth of other government spending, and becoming the fourth-largest category of state spending.
In 2012, Human Rights Watch estimated it costs about nine times more on health care cost for an aging prisoner, compared to the average prisoner.
Available statistical analyses report estimate that releasing an aging prisoner would save states between $28,362 and $66,294 per year per prisoner through health care, other public benefits costs. That number swells higher for old Death Row prisoners.
David Carpenter, 84, the oldest man on San Quentin’s Death Row, has been there since 1984. Carpenter said that although he is an octogenarian and has ailments relative to his age, he is “doing OK.” In Carpenter’s case, there are added cost due to age-related medical issues.
Two years ago, Carpenter had his left kidney removed and takes medication for high cholesterol. “Even though I’m on Death Row, I can’t complain about the medical care I receive at San Quentin. In fact, what medical issues I have are pretty much under control.”
Carpenter said he sees a doctor on “chronic care” follow-up about every 90 days. Presently, he said the only medication he takes is for high blood pressure and for high cholesterol.
By law, prisoners on Death Row are not eligible for a compassionate release.
States can implement mechanisms to determine which prisoners pose little safety risk and can be released. Aging prisoners are the least dangerous of any cohort of prisoners as various studies show they have only five to ten percent recidivism rate.
The overall prison population is increasingly aging. In 2010, of the 1.5 million individuals in state and federal prisons in this country, 246,600 were age 50 and older. This number represents individuals held by state and federal authorities as prisoners, and does not include individuals under the control of county jails. Notably, 86 percent of prisoners serve time in state custody, as opposed to federal custody.
Like California, New York sends a minimum of two guards to go with prisoners transported to an outside hospital, and they need to be guarded 24 hours a day if they remain there.
Today, more than 14 times as many prisoners over the age 55 are serving time than there were in 1981, and experts predict that by 2030 prisoners age 55 and older will comprise more than one-third of prisoners in the United States.
Curly Ray Martin, 74, from Bakersfield has been in prison since 1967. He was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to seven years to life. His initial Minimum Eligibility Parole Date (MEPD), according to the law, was 1974. Over the years, Martin has been denied parole 18 times. “The parole board told me because of my violent history as a young person, I might re-offend.” Martin has had a clean prison record for decades.
Martin suffered a stroke in 1996 and wonders if he’ll ever be released from prison. “When I die, I want it to be as a free man. I am confident that one day, the parole board will get it right and allow me to prove that I am no longer a danger to anyone,” said Martin.
Infirm elderly state prisoners are normally housed at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
Lee Goins, born July 28, 1927, is the oldest man in San Quentin.