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Aging felons too costly
The “three-striker” who went home after being allowed clemency is a very first in Washington (“ ‘Three-strikes’ purse snatcher released,” May 9).
A good question is why do we want these aging strikers behind concrete walls and razor wire anyway? If they aren’t already, they will soon be in wheelchairs, using walkers and hobbling with canes. Geriatric inmates are a soaring number and the results of these lengthy sentences are coming back to haunt us.
The number of incarcerated people 55 years and over increased by 33 percent from 2000 to 2006, accompanied by their rising health care costs. Serious medical conditions exist among these people along with the long list of prescription medications.
What are we accomplishing by incarcerating people long past their crime-prone years? Most three-strikers are incarcerated for low-level offenses and should never have been sentenced to life imprisonment anyway. Isn’t it time that clemency was shown to them?
Sharon O’Connell
Spokane