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Video
Our extreme sentencing policies and a growing number of life sentences have effectively turned many of our correctional facilities into veritable nursing homes — and taxpayers are paying for it. A new ACLU report supplies detailed and practical solutions that states and the federal government can implement to address the dramatic and costly growth in the number of elderly prisoners without putting communities at risk.
Elderly Prison Population Skyrockets Despite Low Risk to Society
Even amidst a modest reduction in the U.S. prison population, the number of aging men and women expected to die behind bars has skyrocketed in a system ill prepared to handle them and still oriented toward mass incarceration. We speak about the problems facing aging prisoners with Mujahid Farid, who was released from a New York state prison in 2011 after serving 33 years. He is now lead organizer with RAPP, which stands for "Release Aging People in Prison." Their slogan is "If the risk is low, let them go." His campaign work is part of Soros Justice Fellowship and is housed at the Correctional Association of New York. We are also joined by Soffiyah Elijah, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, which monitors conditions in state prisons. "The parole board routinely denies people based on the nature of the offense, the one thing that no one can change, just like we can't change our height or our eye color," Elijah notes. "We need to look at that and say, if someone presents a low risk to recidivate, then we should be releasing them from prison. We're wasting precious taxpayer dollars incarcerating people, and it's much more expensive to incarcerate people who are older."
Center Voices, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project and LeGal presented a panel of formerly incarcerated individuals and human rights activists sharing their experiences of being queer and behind bars. www.srlp.org & www.le-gal.org This video excerpt is from Out at the Center, a TV show of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of New York City. To see more episodes go to gaycenter.org. The show is made possible thanks to members of the Center and viewers like you.
Audio
Cutting Prison Costs by Releasing Elderly Inmates
Debra Schifrin reports on one woman's controversial plan to reduce prison costs by releasing elderly prisoners before their sentences are up.
Health Care Can Be Key To A Better Life For Former Inmates
A San Francisco law now permits the sheriff's department to enroll inmates in health insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act — policies designed to cover medical care after a prisoner's release. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi believes that making sure people have health coverage when they leave jail will help keep them from committing another crime and coming back.
What Is The Role Of Jails In Treating The Mentally Ill?
The United States incarcerates hundreds of thousands of inmates suffering from mental illness, and jails and prisons are struggling to provide for inmates with severe mental health needs. Los Angeles County is even exploring building a new jail specifically to house and provide treatment for mentally ill inmates. The proposal is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.