Aging and Older Incarcerated Offenders, Physical Disability of

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and tougher sentencing policies have resulted in the rise in the number of prisoners who are serving long prison terms. For example, three strikes felony sentencing mandates that judges sentence third-time felony offenders to serve long mandatory prison sentences (often 25 years to life), and the punitive sentencing measures associated with the war on drugs of the 1980s and 1990s placed greater emphasis on mandating prison sentences for drug offenders. Furthermore, some states have eliminated parole, which allows for early release for well-behaved inmates. Thus, more people are sent to prison for longer periods of time. Additionally, medical advances allow people to live longer, also contributing to the growth of the number of older ...