(1/5) IPP client Philip Merritt was diagnosed w/ dementia while incarcerated, unable to get needed care. With IPP's help, Phillip was recently released under the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act and now receives full-time care from his brother Michael.

(2/5) “Prison, that’s a traumatic environment, 24/7. Over the years, that trauma builds up,” Michael said.

(3/5) “A lot of people currently incarcerated with dementia are simply undiagnosed just because of abject medical neglect,” IPP attorney Maria Burnett said.

(4/5) Burnett added, “All prisons are highly punitive environments, but for those with dementia, it’s impossible to obey the rules because they cognitively can’t understand what’s happening, which can lead to further unwarranted punishment.”

(5/5) Medical experts say incarceration can leave people w/ permanent physical impacts, like dementia. No one has counted how many people in American prisons have dementia, but one study estimates more than 1/2 of the 400k incarcerated elderly will develop dementia by 2030.