Twenty-five murderers, rapists and other criminals that have grown old at Masiyahu Prison need constant nursing care in order to function. Some are incontinent, others suffer from serious heart disease or have limited mobility. All are housed in the prison's "elderly ward," specially designed to handle their medical problems.

At first glance, the cellblock looks like any other: dozens of prisoners walk around, some work, others do crafts or walk in the enclosed courtyard. But a closer look reveals some prisoners in wheelchairs.

Since these prisoners cannot be transferred to nursing homes outside the Prison Service, the special block at Masiyahu was tailored to nursing care. The cell doors are relatively wide, the bathrooms are wheelchair accessible and the showers have special pipes.

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"You won't find any prisoners here who have lost their humanity," explains Masiyahu chief warden Rami Ovadia. "We carefully preserve their dignity, even if their medical situation doesn't allow them to take care of themselves." A prisoner appointed "nurse" is in charge of showering, shaving and taking care of the prisoners who can no longer take care of themselves. Like in all cell blocks, a medic examines each prisoner three times a day and doctors are called whenever necessary.

The prisoners at Masiyahu who need nursing care are not the only ones in Israel: Ramle's Magen Prison has a group of inmates in far worse condition. At Magen, the prisoners get constant medical care, and an on-site Prison Service medical center provides dialysis and other medical treatment to ailing or terminal patients.

Nursing care for prisoners raises a difficult dilemma: Prison Service officials ask if the organization should be financing medical treatment for inmates who no longer pose any threat to society and could instead be in nursing homes.

"Invalid prisoners are no longer a danger to society, even if they were once violent killers," someone involved in prison-based nursing care said this week. "These inmates not longer go on furlough, as there is no one to provide them appropriate medical care outside prison walls. They don't apply for pardons, as they have nothing outside, and they have no family who would care for them outside. In many cases, even if they have families, the families don't recognize them or won't accept their return to the home, to care for them in their difficult hour."

Another Prison Service official says, "These inmates must pay for their acts. But is this imprisonment practical? Is deciding to release such a person unreasonable?"

Prison officials note that the central problem is the high cost of nursing care. Incarceration costs NIS 90,000 a year per prisoner. For the invalids, there are also the costs of hospitalizations at NIS 2,000 per day, as well as the cost of frequent hospital trips, including the cost of an accompanying guard detail and securing the prisoner during the medical exam.

One such invalid is a 65-year-old Masiyahu inmate known as "Papa-Grampa," serving a sentence for raping his daughter and impregnating her. He is incontinent and unable to function independently. In response to his crime, his family has rejected him and even if he is released, no one outside the prison will care for him.

Another inmate, S., was convicted of rape a few years ago. Since his incarceration, the 60-year-old has suffered several heart attacks. Although he is still active, his physical condition is deteriorating. "I prefer to remain anonymous and not discuss what I did," he said this week, "But here in the elderly ward, I get excellent medical care and I am treated well. I want to make it perfectly clear: If they say I can be released, I do not plan to leave. I will never leave this place."

M., 70, has served 13 months for fraud. He says, "These are the optimal conditions in which we could live. This is the only way a prisoner can serve his sentence in a sane manner. For me, the physical conditions don't really matter. What is important to me is if you need help, it is available. If someone doesn't feel well at night, he immediately receives assistance. This cellblock allows us to maintain our dignity and our identity. That is all we have left."