NCJ Number
125289
Journal
Journal of Gerontological Social Work Volume: 14 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 191-208
Date Published
1989
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study consists of in-depth interviews of four male ex-convicts over the age of 65 who had committed offenses ranging from murder to writing bad checks, had been released, and were living in the community. The interviews focused on each person's life situation prior to his offense, during the journey through the criminal justice system and incarceration, the transition back into the community, and the current situation, as well as their attitudes toward subsystems of criminal justice, law enforcement, judiciary, and corrections.
Abstract
The interviews revealed that these elderly offenders share the concerns of elderly people in general, with a particular anxiety over their health. All of the interviewees reported financial difficulties and two had standards of living lower than what they had enjoyed prior to incarceration. The interviewees discussed the change in status that their convictions had caused, as well as the stigmas they have experienced. Loss of some degree of family support was apparent in all the cases. Variables in the adjustment and quality of life of elderly offenders include the length of incarceration, its recency, current physical and mental health, and actual guilt or innocence. Gerontological social workers could sensitize service providers to the needs of this special population and provide their own consultation services to prisons and other confinement-based institutions for elderly prisoners. 7 references. (Author abstract modified)