COVID-19 is ravaging US prisons. Prison residents and staff must be prioritized for vaccination, but a rapidly mutating virus and high rates of continued spread require an urgent, coordinated public health response....
Mass incarceration is a sociostructural driver of profound health inequalities in the United States. The political and economic forces underpinning mass incarceration are deeply rooted in centuries of the enslavement of people of African descent and the genocide and displacement of Indigenous people and is...
Between 1993 and 2013, the number of state prison inmates in this country who are age 55 years or older increased approximately fourfold. Nearly 1 in 10 individuals incarcerated in U.S. prisons is serving a life sentence. If current trends hold, it is projected that by 2030 the number of...
The large and continued growth of the older adult population within U.S. prisons affects not only criminal justice policy and correctional health practice, but also gerontology. Amidst the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, associated knowledge and skills surrounding older adulthood will be critical to assuring the needs...
In the 1970s and 80s, the U.S. experienced a national crime wave which gave rise to a “tough on crime” abandonment of rehabilitation in most jails and prisons and ushered in an era of mass incarceration. Despite an emphasis on institutional security and control in...
Living and working conditions in many US correctional facilities are damaging to the health of incarcerated people and correctional staff. In response, experts have called for efforts to improve the health of incarcerated people, and correctional systems have invested in “officer wellness” programs. ...
Solitary confinement is a widespread practice in US correctional facilities. Long-standing concerns about the physical and mental health effects of solitary confinement have led to litigation, legislation, and community activism resulting in many prison systems introducing policies or implementing legal mandates to reduce or eliminate...
