Elderly Incarceration



Elderly Incarceration

Background

Over the past twenty years, much has been done to increase the number of offenders coming into the criminal justice system. Between 1990 and 2000, the total number of inmates in federal and state prisons increased by seventy-nine percent.2 According to the report of the Bureau of Justice Statistics for inmates in 2000, estimates show that approximately 3.3% of the state and federal prison population in the United States age of fifty-five years of age or older, and that figure will grow over the next few decades. Even more, one California study showed that by 2020, twenty percent of the population that the correctional state will consist of criminals and fifty years and older (Zimbardo, 2006). This increase is forcing many states to turn their attention to understanding the consequences of imprisonment for this group of offenders and special needs that older offenders require.

Hypothesis Statement

Although imperfect, the Federal Punishment principles (principles) are based on the belief that fairness, proportionality and uniformity should be restored in sentencing.

Problem Statement

Some concern was expressed that the existing facilities were not sufficient to meet the needs of an increasingly aging and old criminal population. At the same time, there were concerns about the usefulness of the continued detention of elderly offenders.

Purpose of the Study

This study will examine the problems of older criminals and how their age affects sentencing practices in accordance with Federal guidelines sentences. The study will examine to what extent the lack of precise definitions contained in sections 5H1.1 and 5H1.4 of the Guidelines leads to a change of sentences in various judicial circuits. Preliminary research suggests that a change in the sentence among the federal circuits mainly due to geographical location (Maruschak, 2007). This paper expands on that premise, and believes that the lack of precise definitions of "not ...