SURJ and the Delaware Center for Justice (DCJ) have partnered to bring the Project for Older Prisoners (POPS) to Delaware.  POPS seeks to identify geriatric inmates in correctional facilities that are good candidates for early release from prison.  Using a thorough screening process and risk analysis tool, law students evaluate geriatric inmates to determine whether they are good candidates for early release.  The program was established in 1989 by then-Tulane Law School professor Jonathan Turley, and is now based out of George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C.  The program operates in five states and the District of Columbia.

Delaware Department of Correction Commissioner Carl Danberg has stated that he supports the program, and Widener University School of Law in Wilmington has agreed to move forward with offering the POPS program as a course or “clinic” for its students.  SURJ and DCJ are in the process of developing a procedural model for the law school to use, based on a current procedure of applications for early release under Delaware Code Title 11, Chapter 42, Section 4217.  This provision, which requires that a petition from the Department of Correction be considered by the Board of Parole and, if approved, by the Superior Court, is infrequently utilized.  Law students participating in the POPS program would act as facilitators in expediting the usage of the current provision.

Under the pilot program model, Widener Law School has proposed that a team of one law student and one paralegal student would be paired with one volunteer attorney mentor and would be assigned a case load for evaluation under the POPS program.  Volunteer mentors are being recruited from the Delaware Bar Association’s Senior Lawyer Committee, but all attorneys, whether currently practicing or retired, are invited to participate.  If you or someone you know may be interested in serving as a volunteer mentor for law students involved in the POPS program, please contact the SURJ office at (302) 426-9252.

Prisoners are typically considered to be “geriatric offenders” if they are over the approximate age of 50.  Dr. Ina Li, Associate Director of Geriatric, Family, and Community Medicine with Christiana Care Health System, says that prison can add 15 years to a person’s biological age. For example, a 60-year-old may physically appear to be 75 years old due to a variety of conditions and symptoms that worsen under correctional care (depression, dementia, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer).  The cost to care for geriatric prisoners, says Li, is three times higher behind bars than in the community.  Annual prison costs for younger inmates are $30-40,000 annually, but geriatric inmates typically cost the state $60-70,000 annually.  Commissioner Danberg has said that corrections funds are disproportionately spent on older inmates.

Older inmates are also less likely to commit future crimes, says Prof. Turley.  Age, among other factors such as whether the offender is a habitual offender, whether the crime was violent or property-related, and whether the offender is drug dependent or has health problems, should be considered.  Commissioner Danberg said that older prisoners are easy to manage and tend to be vulnerable to abuse.  Suicide rates are higher among older prisoners, and many older prisoners fear victimization from younger inmates.

The implementation of the POPS program in Delaware will help to ensure that our state’s limited financial resources are put to the best use possible.  If a geriatric inmate is found to be eligible through the intensive screening process and is successfully vetted through the Board of Parole and the Superior Court, the appropriate community supervision for the elderly offender and appropriate reentry services would be provided.