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International Journal of Criminology and Sociology

  • Aging Prisoners: A Brief Report of Key Legal and Policy Dilemmas

    The problems surrounding the imprisonment of elderly offenders are examined. The key legal and policy challenges concerning older prisoners covered are: 

    • early and compassionate release; 
    • segregation or integration; 
    • the meaning of imprisonment in old age and its legal implications; 
    • fixed versus tailored sentences; 
    • and if prison is the right place to confine older offenders. 

    The authors conclude with a discussion of whether there is a need for “age specific” legal policy for older inmates.