Aging in Prison and the Social Mirror: Reflections and Insights on Care and Justice

Abstract

In the era of COVID‐19, there is a growing awareness of what was once an “unseen problem” of the crisis of a rapidly growing population of the aged, sick, and dying who are behind lock and key. This article provides a global overview of the aging prison population as well as an in‐depth analysis of select and salient existing community and policy responses to justice‐involved older adults. Moving towards a more solution‐focused and visionary approach to imagine an ideal society that would address social determinants of health, justice disparities, and the current “aging in prison” crisis is discussed. Based on three decades of research, practice research, and wisdom, a global shift from a competition and conflict societal approach to a caring justice model is proposed. Select programs of promising global practices that governmental and non‐governmental organizations may use to guide their response to their populations that directly target the crisis of justice‐involved older people, their families, and communities are presented. A reflective analysis applied to the aging prison population has relevance for other global communities grappling with similar complex issues regarding societal ills, poor health and early mortality, homelessness, unemployment, community violence, natural and human‐made disaster, and mass incarceration of people of all ages.