142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

312240
"If the Risk is Low, Let them Go!": Parole and Aging People in Prison

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Kathy Boudin, EdD , Center for Comprehensive Care, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital, New York, NY
From 1995 to 2010 the number of state and federal prisoners aged 55 and over nearly quadrupled to 124,000, while the prison population as a whole grew by 42%. In New York State (NYS), the incarcerated population fell by 21% over the past decade—from 71,466 in 2000 to 56,315 in 2011. In that same period, the population of people aged 50 and older has increased by 64%. The proportion of elders will continue to balloon as younger incarcerated people with long sentences (including those serving life without parole) age.

Prison officials, state governments and public health advocates across the country have begun to address the crisis of the growth in the aging prison population. This paper presents findings from the New York-based Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) campaign, which was established to advocate for the release of elderly and aging people in prison. RAPP’s public education efforts detail the health, social, and economic costs of continuing to imprison aging people. While the chance of recidivism (returning to prison after release) decreases dramatically with age, over the past two years, the parole board in New York has denied 75% of all requests for release, no matter what age the petitioner. Moreover, the state routinely fails to issue compassionate releases to incarcerated people who are seriously ill. More than half of the NYS prison population was convicted of violent felonies. Reflecting on the RAPP campaign provides advocates with an example of how advocacy for this group is unique from campaigns focusing on non-violent offenders.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education

Learning Objectives:
Identify the major social, economic, and political forces driving the ballooning aging prison population Describe at least one advocacy model designed to address the aging prison population

Keyword(s): Prisoners Health, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Kathy Boudin has been an educator and counselor with experience in program development since 1964, working within communities with limited resources to solve social problems. Dr. Boudin has focused her work on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and criminal justice issues including women in prison; mother-child relationships and parenting from a distance; adolescent relationships with incarcerated parents; restorative justice, and higher education and basic literacy inside correctional institutions.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.