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“Programs like this are needed as California’s older prison population is set to grow exponentially, particularly given many inmates’ lengthy sentences. About 5,400 are either on death row or facing life in prison without parole, and another 26,000 are sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. That’s about a quarter of the state’s current prison population. “When you incarcerate people when they’re older, you’re doing so at a significant cost when in some cases a person’s ability to harm the general public is greatly diminished,” says Joyce Hayhoe, director of legislation and communications for the California Correctional Health Care Receivership.”