The Gray Pains of Imprisonment: Examining the Perceptions of Confinement among a Sample of Sexagenarians and Septuagenarians

• Author: Ronald H. Aday,Margaret E. Leigey
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211022670
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211022670

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(8) 807 –823

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211022670

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Article

The Gray Pains of

Imprisonment: Examining

the Perceptions of

Confinement among a

Sample of Sexagenarians

and Septuagenarians

Margaret E. Leigey1 and Ronald H. Aday2

Abstract

While the overall United States prison population has decreased over the last

10 years, the number of sentenced individuals above the age of 50 nearly doubled

during the same period. The focus of this study, the pains of imprisonment

experienced by the aging, is an under-researched area in the prison literature.

Results from a sample of 134 male participants of True Grit, a structured living

program for older prisoners, indicate strong agreement among sexagenarians,

among septuagenarians, and between them. Previous studies of the pains of

imprisonment found similar evaluations of the most and least difficult aspects of

incarceration. While different instruments were used, collectively these studies

suggest some commonality in the greatest hardships and least problematic aspects

of incarceration. Policy implications derived from the present research are

considered.

Keywords

pains of imprisonment, older prisoners, True Grit, perceptions of confinement, social

networks

1The College of New Jersey, Ewing, USA

2Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, USA

Corresponding Author:

Margaret E. Leigey, Department of Criminology, The College of New Jersey, 304A Social Sciences

Building, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08628, USA.

Email: leigeym@tcnj.edu

1022670IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211022670International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyLeigey and Aday

research-article2021

808 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 66(8)

From 2009 to 2019, the overall United States (US) prison population decreased by

11.4% (Carson, 2020). However, in the same period, the number of sentenced indi-

viduals above the age of 50 nearly doubled from 151,900 to 292,651 (Carson, 2020;

West et al., 2010). As it stands today, one in five sentenced individuals in state and

federal facilities are above the age of 50 (Carson, 2020), and this group represents the

fastest growing segment of the federal prison population (Office of the Inspector

General, 2016).

Several factors are responsible for this increase. The country’s demographics have

shifted as 36% of the US population is above the age of 50 (Statista Research

Department, 2021). Additionally, the average life expectancy of a US resident contin-

ues to increase (Newman, 2020; Rikard & Rosenberg, 2007), though salient differ-

ences exist based on sex and race/ethnicity. While there are more older people in the

country and greater numbers living longer, these demographic factors are not suffi-

cient alone to explain the graying of the prison population (McKillop & Boucher,

2018). Changes in sentencing and correctional practices also have had an effect as

prison populations ballooned in the 1980s and 1990s (Rikard & Rosenberg, 2007),

which led to more people—young and old—entering prison (Litwok et al., 2020).

“Tough on crime” legislation, for example, mandatory minimums and lengthier sen-

tences, have increased time served in prison. Put simply, people are growing old in

prison (Litwok et al., 2020; McKillop & Boucher, 2018; Reimer, 2008), in particular

those serving life sentences can expect to serve a substantial period of their lives, and

quite possibility the remainder, incarcerated. At present, about one in seven individu-

als incarcerated in the nation are serving either a life sentence or a virtual life sentence

(Mauer & Nellis, 2018). Finally, in addition to the population of individuals who enter

prison in young age and grow old behind bars, there has been an increase in the num-

ber of people entering prisons in their senior years (Litwok et al., 2020). Based on data

from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (Carson & Sabol, 2016), 31% of people 55 years

of age or older at prison admission had been convicted of a violent offense, most com-

monly rape/sexual assault and assault, 24% for public order offenses, and similar per-

centages for property offenses and drug offenses (22% each).

Unless widespread changes are made to existing sentencing and correctional prac-

tices, the graying of prisons will continue to intensify. According to a projection from

the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, 2012), in 2030, less than a decade from

now, the number of individuals 55 years of age or older in prison will surpass 400,000.

Collectively, they will constitute one-third of the prison population, and their size will

have increased 4,400% over a half century, between the period of 1981 and 2030. As

the proportion of older people in prison increases, the departments of corrections that

are responsible for them will experience significant increases in their medical care

costs. In its study of the healthcare costs of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Office

of the United States Inspector General (2016) noted that institutions with the greatest

proportions of older people spent 14 times more on medication and five times more on

medical care per person than institutions with the lowest proportion of older people.

Primarily because of increased medical costs, the annual cost to incarcerate an older

person is double that of a younger person, $68,270 versus $34,135 (ACLU, 2012).