Returning Dignity Only at Death’s Door: Can Incarcerated Individuals Acting as Hospice Caregivers Achieve Rehabilitative Goals Without Sacrificing Autonomy?
Open Access
Author:
Anmalsetty, Sneha
Area of Honors:
Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Michele L Mekel, Thesis Supervisor Michele L Mekel, Thesis Honors Advisor Lorraine C Santy, Faculty Reader
As the number of individuals who are incarcerated increases in the United States, correctional institutions face a growing burden to provide adequate healthcare. End-of-life care, or hospice care, has become especially important for incarcerated individuals who are aging or have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses so that they are able to die with dignity. To address this need, prison infirmaries across the United States are implementing in-house hospice programs. Inspired by the program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, many institutions are also involving incarcerated individuals in the care of prisoner-patients as volunteer hospice caregivers. Not only do these prisoner-caregivers improve the delivery of hospice and provide comfort for dying prisoner-patients, but they themselves experience positive emotional growth and gain important transferrable skills. However, their volunteerism must be considered in the context of the current state of corrections. Specifically, volunteer prisoner caregivers lack protections for their physical and emotional labor, lack autonomy and are vulnerable to coercion, exemplify concerns with assignments of social worth, and highlight the need for a shift away from retributive justice practices in the criminal justice system. This work examines the impact of volunteer prisoner-caregiver programs on the caregiver, the patient, the correctional institution, healthcare institutions, and the overall criminal justice system.
