Parole for the Elderly
Tynesha Wilson
CJHS 430
November 17, 2014
Christopher Abreu

Parole for the Elderly
There are many arguments for and against confining the sick and elderly adults in jail. Some of the arguments include but are not limited to the cost to house these inmates (elderly and sick), monies used to house these inmates could be used to fund other programs, where will these inmates go once they are released, the reduction of overcrowding in the prison system, may increase crime and the homeless population, etc. Should the elderly be released just because a large amount of money is spent just to house them or should those elderly inmates remain incarcerated because they did the crime and should have to do the crime? …show more content…

By releasing sick and elderly inmates the responsibility of taking care of them will no longer fall upon the shoulders of the state or government which will thereby release the blame being placed on these entities. This alone will decrease the amount of law suits against the prison system for malpractice or neglect.
Another argument against releasing the sick and elderly is that by releasing them the state or government may be placing the inmate in a worse predicament than he or she is already in. Some sick or elderly inmates have nowhere to go especially if they have been incarcerated for a while. Where will they live? Who will take care of them? How will they pay for food, lodging, and other necessities? Most ex-cons released from prison find that they are undesirable for hiring due to age and or criminal background. It is often times hard for a person that has gone to college and has an education to get a job, a person that has been released from prison may find it difficult to get adequate housing, receive help from the government (food stamps, public housing, etc.). Some may say that by solving the overcrowding problem of prisons that the government maybe potentially creating other problems such as increasing the homeless population, increasing crime (those released may feel that he or she has to commit other crimes to be able to provide for themselves or their family) which will land