Aging prisoners

Here’s a stark statistic you may not know: The United States has 5% of the world’s population yet houses 25% of the world’s prison population. Our controversial system of imprisonment, with long sentences and narrow release parameters, has led to a mass incarceration crisis in our country. And along with that crisis…

There’s little about getting older that is generalizable- the changes that come can sometimes be subtle, or stark, and the experience is often different depending on who you are, where you come from and what systems of support envelop you. For four students at the Columbia University Graduation School of…

It’s hard enough getting older. Imagine growing older, with all of its attendant limitations, while serving a sentence behind bars. Your life is severely restricted and your options to maintain a quality of life are few. For photographer Jessica Earnshaw, the subject of aging prisoners became a passion and a…