Old age, risk and vulnerability: A humanitarian-punitive ethos

This article examines how old age, risk and vulnerability intersect in prison, introducing the concept of a humanitarian-punitive ethos to describe the carceral governance of older prisoners. Traditionally, in the social sciences, the figure of the older prisoner is viewed through two opposing lenses: vulnerability (aligned with care) and risk (tied to control). Drawing on staff narratives from HMP Wakefield, a high-security prison in England, the article shows how these logics coexist in practice. As the findings suggest, staff are tasked with both protecting and managing ‘dormant threats’ posed by older prisoners, framing their vulnerability as a condition to be managed rather than a reason to reconsider their incarceration. This dual role reshapes how ‘the older prisoner’ is understood and constructed, how prison work is experienced, and how aging challenges the carceral logic itself. The findings and argument have policy implications: they call for expanded release mechanisms and time-capped sentences that acknowledge the realities of aging in prison.