238 NO PAROLE FROM RAVAGES OF OLD AGE FOR WOMEN BEHIND BARS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 17, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

NO PAROLE FROM RAVAGES OF OLD AGE FOR WOMEN BEHIND BARS
MTSU Women’s Studies Research Series Examines Aging Women in Prisons

(MURFREESBORO) – “Grandma Lifers in Prison: Approaches to Understanding the Lives of a Forgotten Population” will be the first presentation of the new year in the Women’s Studies Research Series at 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24, in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Dr. Ron Aday, professor of sociology and anthropology, will deliver the address and answer questions. One of his areas of scholarly research is the treatment of the aged behind bars.
“The number of women inmates in state and federal prisons has increased rapidly in recent decades and, more recently, older women have been the fastest growing segment of this population,” Aday says. “As a forgotten minority, virtually nothing is known about the distinct experiences of older women in prison.
According to Aday, focus groups and personal interviews in seven state prisons for women reveal that aging presents “numerous complications” for female inmates serving life sentences.
“The voices of these older women illustrate the ‘pains of imprisonment’ they encounter in the areas of personal identity, social and familial relationships, health concerns and environmental deprivations,” Aday says. “As these lifers make prison their home, understanding the strategies they use to cope with the dehumanizing conditions and deprivations of prison life is important as correctional facilities respond to the special needs of this forgotten prison population.”
"The MTSU Women's Studies Research Series has something for everyone interested in women's experience,” says Dr. Jane Marcellus, professor of mass communication. “By bringing together scholars from across campus, we touch on a wide variety of feminist viewpoints in an informal monthly gathering.”
For more information, contact Marcellus at 615-898-5282 or jmarcell@mtsu.edu, or contact the Women’s Studies office at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu.

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