6 Prisons Have The Most Elderly Inmates In New York
Some prisons in New York have quite a few senior citizens incarcerated in them. While many of us may not think of grey-haired grandparent types as criminals, there's a healthy number of prisoners aged 55 and older in New York State prisons. Either they got locked up at a young age but are serving long or life sentences, or they got into a life of crime at a ripe old age.
Here Is How Many Prisoners Died In New York State Prisons
A reality of an aging prison population is the likelihood that incarcerated individuals will die behind bars. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released a report of how many incarcerated individuals have died in its facilities for the year.
READ MORE: Top 6 Prisons With The Most Deaths In New York
Over the past ten years, there have been a total of 1,353 inmate deaths at state-run facilities. These deaths include all facilities - maximum, medium, and minimum security prisons, as well as Regional Medical Units.
Here's how many incarcerated prisoners have died from all causes over the past decade:
2014 - 131
2015 - 124
2016 - 152
2017 - 158
2018 - 142
2019 - 118
2020 - 130
2021 - 137
2022 - 154
2023 - 107
The totals include all manners of deaths - accident, homicide, natural, suicide, and unknown. For clarification, the manner of death is not necessarily the same as the cause of death,
Pursuant to NYS County Law §671 and §674, the official cause of death for all incarcerated individual deaths is determined by the county coroner or medical examiner. County Law §677 leaves it to county coroner and medical examiner to determine if results will be released and to whom. Therefore, the manner of death is presented in this report, not cause of death.
6 New York State Prisons Have The Most Older Prisoners
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision provides annual reports detailing the demographics of its inmates, including age ranges. The two age groups with the highest populations of prisoners are 30-34 with 5,654 inmates and 35-39 with 5,481 throughout NYS prisons.
READ MORE: Are Conjugal Visits Legal In New York State Prisons?
When it comes to incarcerated individuals that are of AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, age, some NY prisons have more than others. The 6 prisons below have the most prisoners aged 55 or older:
6. Eastern NY Correctional Facility - 230 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 95 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 82 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 53 Prisoners
5. Attica Correctional Facility - 279 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 93 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 104 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 82 Prisoners
4. Elmira Correctional Facility - 284 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 124 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 94 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 66 Prisoners
3. Clinton Correctional Facility - 329 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 127 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 124 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 78 Prisoners
READ MORE: 7 Prisons In New York With The Most Murderers
2. Sing Sing Correctional Facility - 366 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 157 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 114 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 95 Prisoners
1. Green Haven Correctional Facility - 526 Prisoners
Age 55-59 - 183 Prisoners
Age 60-64 - 194 Prisoners
Age 65+ - 149 Prisoners
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Gallery Credit: Credit - Polly McAdams