It's incredibly disturbing how many people are imprisoned in the US, and also that there are private prisons. But that's another story. I like the idea of having prisoners take care of other prisoners who are suffering from those diseases, it saves money, and might help with developing bonds or at least giving them something to do. My question though, is the point to keeping individuals suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia in jail past a certain point. Are they still a threat to society after they begin to suffer from these diseases? I think it would be best to transfer them out of prison after they are no longer a threat, and move them into a nursing home or the care of their family.
Some people with dementia illnesses have very troubling behaviours - violence, anger, disinhibition (they'll strip naked in the street, for example). Whether that means they need to be in prison or a secure hospital is another matter, but not all people could be returned to society.