Special Report: Aging Inmates

CHATTAHOOCHEE, Fla. (WALA) - "Elderly" Inmates - 50 years and above

Cold steel slams shut, locking elderly inmates inside.

While many across the state sit in solitary cells, things are different at various Florida facilities which specialize in caring for elderly inmates, some with complex medical needs.

But should they stay there?

Of the over 17,000 elderly inmates currently behind bars, 18.5 percent are in for robbery and violent personal offenses. Include sexual offenses and murder/manslaughter to that, those numbers sky-rocket, making up over 40 percent of elderly crime.

The state has no choice but to tend to their medical needs.

“It is a constitutional obligation to provide appropriate healthcare to our inmate population, regardless of their needs, and how expensive those might be," said Gretl Plessinger of the Department of Corrections. “Forty-four percent our hospital days were because of inmates who are over 50-years-old. It cost about $53 a day to house an average inmate in the state of Florida. Of that $53, almost $12 goes into healthcare.”

That adds up to about $19,500 per year, per inmate, and they get pricier with age. According to the DOC, when an inmate turns 60, it takes an average of $70,000 to provide for them.

River Junction Work Camp

In Chattahoochee, Florida, many fit to give back to their community head to River Junction Work Camp .

"I’m keeping all the state vehicles looking as you can see quite well, nice and shiny, yes sir," said inmate Jimmie Lee Kirkland.

Kirkland gets to do on the inside what was one of his favorite tasks on the outside - making cars look like new again. He’s serving five years for cocaine possession, but feels taken care of.

"They don’t treat like convicts or inmates; they treat us like we human beings like everyone else," Kirkland said. "They don’t try to run us down or try to make us feel lower than we already are, they help us."

Kirkland is receiving an education through River Junction.

Inside the facility, Edward Childress showed us how cells are traded for dormitory-style housing, which makes it easier to care for elderly inmates’ needs.

Childress, who’s serving 19 years for armed robbery, handles maintenance at the facility. He's happy to be around his peers.

“With the senior citizens that are here at River Junction, we’re able to interact with each other on a calmer level, and I think the officers see that, and so they treat us accordingly to that," Childress said. "So as far as the living conditions here, everybody gets along well. A prime example is one inmate can bump against another inmate here at River Junction and he’ll say, ‘Excuse me.”

Unfortunately, though, Childress and Kirkland are the minority.

Some of the state’s most violent offenders are taking the biggest portion of taxpayer money.

The Senate Steps In

By state law, criminals must serve 85 percent of their sentence.

The Florida Senate has tried changing that, offering programs which would release inmates early - if they could prove they’ve been rehabilitated.

The programs has failed every single time.

So the question is, do we set some inmates free, or lock them up for good?

“Floridians have to make a decision, and might have to make a decision at some point about the risks involved, and what they want to do, where they want to go from here," Plessinger said.

Childress and Kirkland

Childress still has two years before he’ll return to his Pensacola family. He’s missed his children grow up.

When we spoke to Kirkland he only had 10 days remaining on his sentence.

“We call it the junction because it’s like a cross roads, if you make it to River Junction, you halfway there,” he said.

He was released Sunday, November 13.

Where we stand

According to the DOCA, Florida's inmate population is on the decline, as they've been able to close a few facilities in recent years.

They say as attrition hits the regular inmates,the elderly prison population will start to decrease as well.