Pennsylvania has been burdened by the repercussions of our incarcerated population rapidly getting older.  Over the past decade, the percentage of incarcerated aging people serving sentences of 10 years or more grew from 26.2% to 36.4% of the overall prison population.  In their FY 2025-2026 budget document, the Department of Corrections named the health needs associated with the rapidly growing aging population as one of its long-term fiscal challenges.  The cost of incarcerating people doubles when they reach older age due to their unique medical and physical health needs.
 
In the near future, we plan to introduce legislation to respond to this crisis by creating a pathway for incarcerated people aged 50 and older, who have served the lesser of 25 years in prison or one-half their minimum sentence, to seek release back into the community if they are not considered a danger to public safety.  About half of the states across the country currently have options for geriatric release for incarcerated people.  It is time for Pennsylvania to follow suit.
 
Every year lived in incarceration is similar to losing two years of life expectancy, leading to age 50 as the commonly accepted age where research and data on the incarcerated geriatric population begins.  While age 50 might not feel geriatric for those of us who live our daily lives in the community, studies show that the intense strain of experiencing incarceration results in a medical age around 10-15 years ahead of a person’s actual age.
 
The Department of Corrections is currently charged with the custody and care of nearly 11,000 people over age 50, totaling 27.7%  of the overall prison population, and every year that number grows.  During 2024, the incarcerated population of people over age 50 grew by more than 300 people, and by nearly 1,000 people since 2021.
 
Creating a geriatric release mechanism for people incarcerated in Pennsylvania’s state prisons would allow us to better support the Department of Corrections by reducing their fiscal challenges, and our Commonwealth by allowing people who have redeemed themselves to become credible messengers and reduce violence in the communities they might have harmed.
 
Please join us in sponsoring this commonsense and much-needed piece of legislation.