By Deandra Corinthios
TMJ
OSHKOSH — The number of Wisconsites doing hard time is exploding. In the last 10 years, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the number of prisoners over age 50 has gone up a whopping 73 percent. So what’s behind the increase and what’s being done to stop it?
Longer sentences, tougher laws for OWI’s, and sexual offenses, plus the baby boom, are three big reasons why the elderly inmate population in Wisconsin is swelling out of control. But the D.O.C is involved in efforts right now to fix the problem.
Wheelchairs and walkers line the hallways. Not your typical cell block. It’s a wing at Oshkosh Correctional Institution for elderly or handicapped prisoners, one of the fastest growing prison populations in Wisconsin.
Full story: Wisconsin elderly inmate population growing quickly