Skip navigation
Prison Legal News

Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners 
Suffering Cognitive Impairment

Loaded on July 15, 2025 by Matthew Clarke published in Prison Legal News July, 2025, page 15
Filed under: Geriatric Classification, Medical, Failure to Treat, Elderly Defendants. Location: Texas.

A recently published study of cognitive impairment (CI) among older prisoners held by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) showed that over 35%—more than 1 in 3—suffered from some form of CI.

The study used a random and representative sample of 143 of the state’s 20,202 prisoners aged 55 and over at the time; their mean age was 61.3. Each participant took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a screening tool which involved a 15-minute interview with a masters-level psychologist. The MoCA has “high sensitivity for the detection of MCI [mild cognitive impairment] and dementia, especially in persons with low formal education,” the study report noted. Scores under 23 indicated CI while those under 18 indicated dementia, under MoCA scoring guidelines. 

The results also showed that 9.1% of TDCJ participants “met the threshold for dementia.” Blacks, Hispanics and those suffering from serious depression “had a higher prevalence of a positive screen for MCI or dementia.” Alarmingly, only 15.4% of those who screened positive for dementia had a prior diagnosis of dementia in their medical records, indicating a severe under diagnosis of dementia among Texas prisoners.

This was the first look at CI in a randomized study of older state prisoners. “Given the dramatic increase in older incarcerated patients in recent years, cognitive impairment represents one of the most challenging and costly health care issues facing the U.S. correctional system,” the report noted. Moreover, “impairment in executive cognition and impulse control can hinder older adults’ ability to navigate the criminal justice system, in particular limiting their ability to engage in fair plea bargaining and sentencing.”

Although the MoCA is a screening tool that cannot diagnose CI, it has an 87% specificity with respect to both MCI and dementia. The results of the study were largely similar to three comparable studies of populations outside prison, given that those studies were of persons 62-90 or over 64. See: Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Vol. 78, Issue 12, p.2141.  

More from this issue:

  1. Class-Action Suit at BOP “Rape Club” in California Settled for Record $116 Million
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to 
Defunded Prison Programs
  4. 14th Alabama Sheriff’s Employee Pleads Guilty 
in Jail Detainee’s Death by Freezing
  5. $12 Million for Former California Prisoner 
Exonerated After 17 Years
  6. Latest Jail Booking Info Is Based on New Data Source
  7. $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner 
Whose Baby Was Stillborn, by Douglas Ankney
  8. JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service
  9. Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners 
Suffering Cognitive Impairment, by Matthew Clarke
  10. Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted 
of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme
  11. New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing 
for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, by Douglas Ankney
  12. Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages 
for Future Lost Income More Easily, by David Reutter
  13. Bold New Orleans Escape Calls Attention 
to Poor Jail Conditions
  14. Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing 
of Pretrial Detainee
  15. D.C. District Court Dismisses Class Action Against BOP 
Over Earned Sentence Credits
  16. Gag Order on Tennessee Attorney for Criticizing CoreCivic 
Lifted by Judge
  17. Nearly $60,000 Awarded to Mother Of Dead Missouri Prisoner 
In Suit For His DOC Records, by Anthony Accurso
  18. New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, by Douglas Ankney
  19. Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference 
Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim 
for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, by Douglas Ankney
  20. Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge 
to Private Prisons
  21. Wiccan Nevada Prisoner Wins 18-Year Fight for Religious Items, by Clark Nelly
  22. California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness
  23. Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP
  24. $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for 
Wrongfully Convicted Illinois Prisoner, by David Reutter
  25. Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance 
in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, by Douglas Ankney
  26. First Circuit Revives Rhode Island Prisoner’s 
Excessive Force Claim Against Guard, by David Reutter
  27. $42,000 Paid to Wisconsin Prisoner Allowed 
to Harm Himself While Under Observation, by Anthony Accurso
  28. Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose 
Records of Private Contractors, by Douglas Ankney
  29. Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island 
into Federal Court Receivership, by Anthony Accurso
  30. Trump’s “Border Czar” Was 
on GEO Group Payroll
  31. First Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Maine Guards who Ogled Prisoner During Childbirth, by David Reutter
  32. Colorado Passes New Law to Expand 
Prisoner Visitation Rights
  33. Massachusetts High Schooler Detained by ICE 
Caught in “Collateral Arrest”
  34. DHS Removed Sanctuary Cities List After Complaint 
from Sheriff’s Association
  35. Lawsuits Filed After Fatal Assault on 
Elderly Prisoner at Kentucky Jail
  36. Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application
  37. Arkansas Ex-Police Chief Known as “Devil in the Ozarks” 
Re-Captured After Prison Escape
  38. New Hampshire Rolls Back Bail Reform
  39. Preliminary Injunction Issued Against Milwaukee Jail’s 
Mail Policy in HRDC Suit
  40. First of 10 Guards Charged with Killing 
of New York Prisoner Pleads Guilty
  41. Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission 
Amended Compassionate Release Policy, by Douglas Ankney
  42. Former Death Row Prisoner Whose Case 
Changed the Law Dies in Texas
  43. A Colorado Jail Has Banned In-Person Visits Since the Pandemic
  44. $250,000 Verdict for South Carolina Prisoner Pepper-Sprayed 
in Face Without Cause by Guard, by David Reutter
  45. Wisconsin Robbery Suspect Frames Immigrant Detainee with Forged Letters Threatening to Kill Trump
  46. Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment for HRDC 
in Arkansas Jail Censorship Suit, by David Reutter
  47. Florida Sheriff Charged in Connection with Massive $21 Million Gambling Ring
  48. South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit 
Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, by Douglas Ankney
  49. Former New Jersey Jailers Plead Guilty 
to Beating Detainee for Tossing Urine
  50. $550,000 Settlement After Juvenile’s Suicide at Charlotte Jail, by David Reutter
  51. Seventh Circuit Revives Former Illinois Prisoner’s Claim 
for Delayed Hepatitis-C Treatment, by David Reutter
  52. Guards Used “Blast Grenades” to Break Up Mob Attack 
in California Prison
  53. Hyundai Parts Supplier Stops Using Prison Slave Labor in Alabama
  54. The Dangerous Practice of Late-Night Jail Releases, by Anthony Accurso
  55. Sixth Circuit: Michigan Tolling Statute Applies to PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirement, by David Reutter
  56. $1.6 Million Class-Action Settlement 
for Virginia Prisoners Subjected 
to Delayed Release
  57. Trans BOP Prisoners Win Restraining Order Preventing Transfer to Men’s Prison, Discontinuation of Hormone Therapy Medication, by David Reutter
  58. Solving the Carceral Understaffing Crisis: 
What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why
  59. Nearly $2.6 Million Paid to Former Minnesota Jail Detainee 
for Injuries from Delayed Withdrawal Treatment, by David Reutter
  60. Alabama’s Oldest Prisoner Dies in Hospital
  61. Ohio Sued by Non-Profit Law Firm 
for Opening Prisoner Legal Mail
  62. Percentage Of Prisoners Serving Life Without Parole Is Up 
Despite Overall Decrease in Prison Population, by Anthony Accurso
  63. Kentucky Supreme Court Voids Prisoner’s $10,972 Jail Fee, by David Reutter
  64. $95,000 in Settlements for Illinois Prisoners Retaliated Against 
for Class Participation in Prison Education Programs, by David Reutter
  65. News in Brief
  66. Nearly $70,000 Awarded for Illinois Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, by David Reutter

More from Matthew Clarke:

More from these topics: