The Effect of Health and Penal Harm on Aging Female Prisoners' Views of Dying in Prison

With tougher sentencing laws, an increasing number of individuals are finding themselves spending their final years in life in prison. Drawing on a sample of 327 women over the age of 50 incarcerated in 5 Southern states, the present study investigates the relationship between numerous health variables and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS). Qualitatively, the article also provides personal accounts from inmates that serve to reinforce death fears when engaging the prison health care system. Participants reported a mean of 6.40 on the TDAS indicating a substantial degree of death and anxiety when compared to community samples. both mental and physical health measures were important indicators of death anxiety. Qualitative information discovered that respondents' concerns about dying in prison were often influenced by the perceived lack of adequate health care and the indifference of prison staff and other instances of penal harm.

Ageing Behind Bars, with particular reference to older women in prison

Since the 1980s, prison officials, policy makers and researchers have witnessed an astonishing phenomenon in the USA and the UK: increasing numbers of older adults are entering the criminal justice system and in particular prison, finding themselves locked behind steel doors and razor wire fences. So much so that researchers and policy makers are beginning to turn their attention to policy issues such as economic costs, housing, end-of-life issues and institutional management of older offenders. This paper discusses what is currently known about older persons in prison, with particular reference to women prisoners, and gives recommendations as to how to respond to these people’s needs.

Cold, Hungry and Scared:Prison Films About the Troubles

The cinematic representations of the prison experience during the Northern Irish Troubles.