A virtual panel on December 14, sponsored by the State Society on Aging of New York, LiveOn NY, and RAPP (Release Aging People in Prison), in collaboration with the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, focused on the hundreds of older members of our communities who have been behind bars in New York State prisons for 15 years or more, as well as those who have been released and rejoined our communities.
Older adults reflect a quickly growing share of people in prison. Most continue to serve time even though the chances that they would reoffend are vanishingly low. Prisons were not built to provide care and are poorly equipped to house older people. While life expectancy in New York State is approximately 80.7 years, life expectancy for people in prison is only 58 years, making this a critical human rights and public health issue.
The program included public health expert Dr. Robert Fullilove, a professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University, and a panel of older people who have served long sentences. The panelists shared their experiences and stories of how they now take leadership roles in our communities.
