Study Explores Aging Inmates and Prison Misconduct

Zachary Buckner, the first doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, is examining how prison environments shape misconduct, even as offenders grow into an advanced age.

"My research focuses on how the prison environment and the prison experience shapes and predicts misconduct for an individual spending their life incarcerated," Buckner said. "Characteristics such as job assignments, having visitation from family and friends, and prison programming are all factors."

Data from the Council on Criminal Justice indicates that:

• More than half of those incarcerated in state prisons are serving sentences of 10 years or more
• The duration of their imprisonment has grown
• The proportion of individuals aged 55 and older serving lengthy sentences more than doubled between 2005 and 2019.

Buckner used data from a statewide correctional department covering the years 1996 to 2023. He spent two years organizing the data into a manageable format, allowing him to analyze and generate results.

In general, "misconduct" can be broken down into two categories:

• behavior that violates the rules of the facility, such as being in an unauthorized area or not following instructions
• major misconduct, which includes actions that would be considered criminal in general society.

His findings, which will be published in his doctoral dissertation, reveal that a small portion of individuals account for most offenses, while the majority of incarcerated people follow prison rules. But for that small portion, the findings suggest that the rate of violating rules or committing crimes remains consistent 10 to 15 years into their sentence, and well into their 50s and 60s.

This project started as an analysis of organizational issues and correctional officers' job satisfaction in prison systems. But it has since evolved into challenging assumptions about aging and crime behind bars. That evolution began when Buckner stepped foot into the Marshall County Correctional Facility, where he worked for a time before moving to a facility in Florida.

Little attention has been paid to understanding behavior or criminal engagement among those serving long-term sentences and the older adult population., he said.

"I think this is a particularly important group to be studied because of how fast it's growing," Bucker said. "By 2030, two-thirds of the correctional population is projected to be over 50 years of age."

Prisons are not designed for those who have compounding physical and health issues, he said. Most facilities also lack specialized housing and programs designed for those with physical or health limitations.

"Findings suggest that the factors most related to this behavior are being moved to different facilities more often, or what we call transfers, and the assigned custody level," Buckner said. "Custody level dictates how much freedom you have, and those that have a higher custody status have more restrictions on their movement and access to privileges, are more likely to engage in misconduct."

With a majority of prisoners likely following the rules while incarcerated, the challenge is to deter others from committing misconduct.

It is important to consider that for individuals serving long-term sentences, prison becomes their home, Buckner said. If restrictions and transfers are imposed without changing their patterns of misconduct, officials need to reevaluate the effectiveness of these measures and explore better alternatives, he said.

Wes Jennings, chair of criminal justice and legal studies at Ole Miss, praised Buckner's work.

"His dissertation research, which examines the developmental trajectories of misconduct among long-term incarcerated individuals, is a testament to his ability to conduct rigorous, impactful research," Jennings said. "His work not only advances our understanding of correctional behavior but also provides practical insights that can inform policy and practice within correctional institutions."

Top: Many inmates continue to cause trouble even after decades in prison. UM graduate student Zachary Buckner is studying how prison environments shape misconduct, even as prisoners age into their 50s, 60s and beyond. Graphic by John McCustion/University Marketing and Communications