Everyone dies a little in prison and too many finish their lives there. This is the unpronounced sentence of “death in custody.” Still, the end of incarceration should precede the end of life; it is one of the most important “end of life” decisions a society makes. And within the mind of the sentencer and the experience of the incarcerated lay the keys to harmonizing justice with dignity.
By the numbers, more than two million human beings occupy America’s jails and prisons.1 In a recently published survey, half of incarcerated persons reported suffering from some chronic medical condition and a smaller percentage as being afflicted with infectious diseases.2 In-custody deaths have been numbered in the thousands.3 And life-shortening illnesses and conditions, such as cancer and heart disease, along with suicide, are among the chief contributors.4
