The current trend in the growth of prison populations only exacerbates the problems that disabled prisoners encounter. Already particularly susceptible to discrimination and oppression within the penal system, they must cope with problems endemic to being a prisoner and the disadvantages inherent in their disabilities. Prison administrators must confront a broad range of disabilities. The disabled include the wheelchair-bound, the blind, the hearing impaired, the mentally retarded and mentally ill, and persons with an array of medical conditions including HIV infection. Moreover, administrators must deal with the inevitable tension between the ADA s individualized approach to accommodating disabilities and the needs of prison security and administration.
Disabled prisoners pose special problems compared with the general prison population.
Within the set of disabled prisoners, certain subsets present greater problems than do others. These include the elderly, the mentally disabled, the HIV-infected, and the hearing impaired. One might also include juvenile offenders with disabilities. 1401 et seq. Older prisoners are not necessarily disabled, but they are more likely to become disabled or to develop special conditions that require accommodation.