Elderly Fighting Mad

Prisons Plan for Geriatric Perpetrators

Age: 80Gender:M Crime: punched, hurled souvenirs and sandwiches at shinkansen conductor

Age: 65Gender:M Crime: attacked son with hammer then accidentally stabbed himself and died

Age: 87Gender:M Crime: strangled 82-year-old bed-ridden wife

Age: 67Gender:F Crime: stabbed her 76-year-old husband in murder attempt

Age: 69Gender:M Crime: murdered, buried 74-year-old woman

LetsJapan has been tracking this trend. Now The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Japan’s “neo-geriatric” crime wave and prison preparations, and offers some theories about why senior citizens are trading their little houses for time in the big house.

related stories:
As Japan Ages, Prisons Adapt to Going Gray (New York Times); Japan’s Ageing Society (BBC) Tokyo Greying (Reuters) Slideshow – Japan’s Aging Prisoners, elderly inside prison in Japan (New York Times)
Illustration from graphic novel “Doing Time” by Kazuichi Hanawa