Prisons Are Bacteria Factories'; Older Adults Most at Risk

Prisoner advocates are warning of the potential for a catastrophic coronavirus outbreak among senior inmates, as older adults are most vulnerable and the U.S. inmate population is aging, reports the Tucson Sentinel . Jails and prisons are so crowded as to make social distancing nearly unworkable. "I don't think people understand the gravity of what's going to happen if this runs in a prison, and I believe it's inevitable," said Rick Raemisch, a former executive director at the Colorado Department of Corrections. State prisons have refused to release inmates, but several large county and municipal jurisdictions have freed hundreds of jail inmates deemed low-risk, including seniors. Prisoner advocacy groups in more than six states have urged governors to release state prisoners, especially older inmates, through compassionate release or medical furlough. Aging baby boomers constitute nearly 15 percent of the more than 140,200 men and women in Texas prisons, and almost 12 percent of inmates in state and federal prisons nationwide are older than 55. Older prisoners also comprise the bulk of healthcare costs, which is straining government budgets.