Incarceration rate in the United States is the highest globally with more than 2.3 million people in prison. One outstanding attribute of this population of prisoners is the advanced average ages. The prisoners are getting older behind bars, and going through same predicaments as their age mates who are not in prison. The increase in the proportion of elderly inmates in the United States prisons is occasioned by the extreme sentencing policies, the aging in general population and lengthy stays of some inmates ( Seiter, 2005) . A combination of these factors has steadily transformed the correctional facilities into nursing homes. In the last three decades, the population of inmates in general grew 11 times faster than the increase in general population over the same period. Whereas the increase in the population of inmates grew by 400%, the general population registered a 36% growth in the same period. The proportion of elderly inmates is increasing at a higher rate than that of inmates ( Chettiar, Bunting & Schotter, 2012) . For this discussion, the elderly inmate is anyone who is above the age of 50 at any point while serving the sentence.
One of the reasons behind the increase in the proportion of elderly inmates is the aging in the general population of the US society. In the 20 th Century, the population of persons below the age of 65 has increased three fold while that of persons aged at least 65 years has risen 11 times. This implies that the elderly who represented 1 in every 25 persons is now 1 in every 8. This trend is as a result of decrease in mortality and fertility rates resulting in sharp increase in the proportion of middle aged persons. It is projected that this proportion is likely to increase to a ratio of 1 in every 5 Americans being elderly. The trend is also informed by the graduation of the baby boom generation into the elderly years. At the end of the First World War there was sudden increase in birth rates due to stability and improved living standards. The babies born in this period are now entering ages above and 50 years old and justifying the increase in proportion of the elderly in the society.
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Secondly, there have been changes in the sentencing models in the US justice system. The mandatory sentencing and other sentencing guidelines deprives the judges of discretion to put into consideration the health status and age of accused in making the call of a case. In the mandatory sentencing guidelines the offenders are required to serve a predetermined term if they are found guilty of certain crimes, which commonly relates to violence. In these circumstances, the judges are required by the law to sentence the offenders into the specific term through legislation and not the usual judicial system. When the accused person is elderly or about to the elderly age limit, and is subjected to mandatory sentencing, then the proportion of elderly population among the inmates is likely to grow.
Thirdly, lengthier stays in prisons is the reason for increase in the proportion of elderly inmates in the population of prisons. As a person stays longer in the prison, the years are accumulated leading to aging in a proportion equal to the number of years spent in prison. In the last two decades, the length of stay in prison among the violent and petty offenders alike has increased by more than 30%. In 2009, the inmates release in prison had spent an average of 2.9 years more than those released in 1990 ( Goode, 2012) . This implies that there has been an average increase in length of stay in prisons.
References
Chettiar, I. M., Bunting, W., & Schotter, G. (2012). At America’s Expense: The Mass
Incarceration of the Elderly. American Civil Liberties Union, NYU School of Law. Public Law Research Paper , (12-38), 12-19.
Goode, E. (2012, June 6). Average Prison Stay Grew 36 Percent in Two Decades. The New
York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/us/average-prison-stay-grew-36-percent-in-two-decades.html?mcubz=0
Seiter, R. P. (2005). Corrections: An Introduction . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice
Hall.
