Washington’s prisons currently incarcerate more than 1,000 people over the age of 50. Hundreds of them have served decades in prison and despite their low risk of recidivism, they have little to no hope of ever being released. Instead, these inmates continue to age behind bars, at enormous cost to them, their communities, and taxpayers.
This year, Disability Rights Washington’s AVID Project has joined with incarcerated groups at Monroe, as well as other community advocates, to propose state legislation that would create a system of post-conviction review for these older inmates. To support that effort, and show the public what our greying prison population really looks like, we teamed up with Rooted in Rights to make a video about the impact of life and long sentences on our aging population, featuring incarcerated people, experts in the field, and crime survivors, all calling for lawmakers to establish post-conviction review for older inmates in Washington.
For more information about this legislative initiative, and how to get involved, please send an email to: greybehindbars@dr-wa.org.