J. R. Woodgates

In recent years, federal sentencing guidelines have been revised, resulting in less severe prison terms for low-level drug offenders. But…tens of thousands of inmates who were convicted in the “war on drugs” of the 1980s and 1990s are still behind bars.

The average annual cost of housing a federal inmate in general population is $27,500. The price tag for an older inmate who needs medical care – including expensive drugs and treatment – is $59,000.

THE PAINFUL PRICE OF AGING IN PRISON

Why are we keeping someone behind bars who is bedridden and needs assistance getting out of bed and feeding and clothing himself?

FEDERAL PRISON SNAPSHOT