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The prison population is aging quickly – there are now more seniors behind bars than ever before. This is a three-part mini-series about growing older – and sicker – in prison, the challenges of accessing necessary healthcare, and what it really looks like to be released under “compassionate release.”

After months out of prison, Frank Ross’ dementia has progressed. At times, he can no longer remember why he needs to wear the GPS monitor the law requires, putting his freedom at risk. He is dealing with serious health issues while adapting to his new life at the healthcare facility. While Frank struggles to live out his release in peace, we learn about a bill that advocates and some lawmakers say could reform Pennsylvania’s compassionate release system, easing the state’s financial burden and helping people like Frank whose healthcare needs aren’t being met in prison, to be released sooner.

Mechie, an incarcerated woman serving a life sentence at a Pennsylvania prison, learned early on that she needed to advocate for her own health behind bars. Over the decades and as she grew older, she says she witnessed many friends grow ill and die behind bars. Then, in her late 60’s, she discovers that she too has breast cancer. As Mechie recounts the challenges of getting older – and sicker – in prison, we explore the particular health challenges that older women face while incarcerated.

Frank Ross was sentenced to die in prison – but after decades behind bars, he faces a new shot at freedom. At 93-years-old, Frank Ross is struggling with serious health issues. He’s able to secure a medical transfer to live out his final days at a healthcare facility through a law commonly known as “compassionate release.” Frank’s story is representative of a growing problem in prisons across the U.S., where the number of incarcerated people considered elderly has reached a historic peak. Compassionate release is one of the few options that could help combat the growing number of sick and elderly people.

Frank Ross was sentenced to life in prison without parole and incarcerated in a Pennsylvania prison over four decades ago. For the most part, he made peace with the reality that he would grow old behind prison walls and, eventually, spend the end of his life there. What he didn’t plan for was what would happen when he became seriously ill and unable to care for himself in his later years. Or that he would grow so sick as to eventually become one of the rare few people in the state to be approved for a medical transfer out of prison – something commonly known as “compassionate release.”