Getting Old in Prison

Indeed, lawmakers in Washington, DC. appear poised to pass comprehensive criminal justice reform by years end. In September, the House of Representatives will vote up or down on the the Safe Justice Reinvestment Act, a bill that includes “Expanding the Ability To Apply for Compassionate Release” through the courts. Currently, inmates seeking an early release on compassionate grounds must do so at an institutional level, leaving the warden in charge of this difficult decision. Should the Safe Justice Reinvestment Act pass, the process will be left entirely to the sentencing judge.

Should Congress not pass the Safe Justice Reinvestment Act or any other legislation pertaining to sentence reform, all hope is not lost for inmates eyeing a compassionate release. According to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz , inmates aged 50 and over not only make up the fastest-growing segment of the federal prison population, but they are by far the most costly. This undisputed fact has caused Justice Department officials to come up with cost-saving solutions, one of which is to lower the age-bar for elderly inmates seeking compassionate release from 65 to 50 years old.

Older inmates cost an average of 8 percent more to confine, but they are also less likely to end up back in prison after release,” states a DOJ report written in May.”While the recidivism rate among all prisoners is 41 percent, for those released after the age of 50, the rate falls to 15 percent.”

Aware of the DOJ report, 74-year-old convicted bank robber John Stolarz says that it’s about time. “It’s just a shame that the only reason they are considering these changes is because of money. It’s really not about being compassionate.”

Stolarz adds that he hopes the criteria for compassionate release will be changed to include all federal prisoners, not just non-violent offenders.

“Bank robbery is legally considered to be a violent crime, but in my case I didn’t hurt anybody. I had a little note and a little pocket knife. So as my health deteriorates, I wont ever be eligible no matter what.”

The truth is no one knows. As the federal deficit grows and lawmakers become less inclined to keep throwing money at a prison system that breeds recidivism, BOP officials will be forced to search for better ways to reduce the size of their population and keep incarcerated only those who deserve it most. And one such way is to expand the compassionate release program into an “emergency release system” of sorts, one that allows judges to consider an inmate’s physical and mental health, as well as their behavior behind bars.

“A person shouldn’t have to be dying or sick for a judge to show a little compassion,” said Stolarz. “They should just have to be suitable to reenter society. And a lot of guys in here are.”

Article Appeared @http://www.gorillaconvict.com/2016/01/6127/

 

 

 

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