Georgia Spends $70,000 a Year on Elderly Prisoners Who Pose No Danger—While Prisons Collapse

Georgia holds 12,958 people aged 50 and older—more than one in four of its entire incarcerated population—at a cost of $60,000-$70,000 per year per elderly inmate, despite overwhelming evidence that people over 60 have rearrest rates below 13.4% and those over 65 below 4%. The state's parole rate has collapsed from 69.9% in 1993 to 37.5% today, creating an aging prison population that consumes a vastly disproportionate share of the $417.3 million health budget while younger prisoners—who will eventually return to communities—are denied rehabilitation programming and safe conditions.