Rights of Older Persons

One in every four people in prison in New York State is an older adult—almost 8,000 individuals. The physical and mental stresses of living in the prison environment have created a health crisis, with people in their 50s who are behind bars exhibiting disability and comorbidities at a rate equal to community-dwelling people in their 70s and 80s. Many chronic conditions go untreated, and death tolls are rising rapidly among incarcerated people over 55.

The Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging is working with Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign, People’s Campaign for Parole Justice, and other advocates to create an elder parole process in New York State. This would occur through legislation that would allow people over 55 who have served at least 15 years to be considered for parole and to reform the Parole Board to consider people’s parole requests based on the current risk they present. The bills are Elder Parole (S12423/A.2035) and Fair and Timely Parole (S.307/A.162).

More than 300 organizations support this legislation, including leading victims’ rights and aging organizations, as well as a majority of the New York State Legislature. However, Senate and Assembly leaders did not bring the bills to a vote during the 2023-24 legislative session.

Most people over 50 in New York State prisons have already served more than 15 years. Keeping them in prison does not improve community safety: individuals who are over 50 when released from prison rarely commit new crimes. People released at younger ages leave prison in better health, are more successful at finding jobs and housing, and have a greater opportunity to give back to their communities.

Our fact sheet summarizes the research that shows that these bills are sound policy:

https://brookdale.org/fact-sheet-elder-parole-is-an-aging-issue/

Executive director Ruth Finkelstein submitted written testimony to the NYS Senate for their December 7, 2022, hearing on these bills:

https://brookdale.org/parole-justice-testimony/

We hosted a virtual panel on December 14, 2022, in collaboration with the State Society on Aging of New York, LiveOn NY, and RAPP, that featured stories of people returning from prison and their family members. More than 100 aging services providers from across the state attended.

https://brookdale.org/news/panel-highlights-issue-of-older-adults-in-prison/

Letter to the New York Times (Nov. 2, 2023) from Ruth Finkelstein and Kathryn Haslanger, CEO of JASA:

https://brookdale.org/older-prisoners-letter-to-the-editor/

Dr. Finkelstein was quoted in Crain’s New York Business (Nov. 30, 2023):

https://brookdale.org/news/elder-parole-reform-belongs-in-master-plan-for-aging-finkelstein-says/