Aging Prisoners Face Deteriorating Care and Rising Costs in U.S. Jails

Donald Snook, a 73-year-old lifer at Washington’s Stafford Creek Correctional Center, spends his days in a wheelchair, coping with strokes, chronic lung disease, heart blockage, colon and prostate cancers, and limited medical attention. Because he is ineligible for the state’s Emergency Medical Placement program, he must remain in prison despite his deteriorating health. Nationally, inmates aged 55 and older now represent almost 17 % of the incarcerated population, up from 3 % in 1991, and they experience age-related decline much earlier than the general public.

Underfunded facilities and staff lacking proper qualifications result in delayed diagnoses and inadequate treatment, turning many seniors into high-cost patients whose annual expenses can rise to $240,000. Critics say the punitive model, combined with for-profit healthcare contracts, creates a system where many die behind bars without hospice or proper care, prompting calls for compassionate release reforms.