Assisted Living — Behind Bars

Old behind bars: the aging prison population in the United States.

"Prison is tough for everyone, but it is especially hard for older prisoners who need wheelchairs, walkers, portable oxygen and hearing aids; who cannot get dressed, go to the bathroom or bathe without help; who are incontinent, confused or suffering from chronic diseases.

Prison medical costs — borne entirely by the state — are up to nine times higher for older prisoners than for younger ones.

So what can be done? Prison officials, parole boards and governors should make an effort to increase the number of older and ill inmates posing no meaningful security risk who are released from prison and placed under community supervision.

... Those who violate the rights of others must be held accountable. Prison sentences are tailored to give offenders their just deserts at the time of sentencing.

But age and illness (not to mention evidence of rehabilitation) can change the calculus.

If elderly prisoners can be safely released from prison to finish the rest of their lives under parole supervision — at much lower cost to taxpayers — it is hard to see what society gains from keeping them behind bars."

For complete article and further information, see:
Assisted Living — Behind Bars, by Jamie Fellner (Human Rights Watch, 26 March 2012)
Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States (Human Rights Watch Report, 28 January 2012)
US: Number of Aging Prisoners Soaring, Corrections Officials Ill-Prepared to Run Geriatric Facilities (Human Rights Watch, 27 January 2012)

The Misuse of Life Without Parole

"...The American Law Institute, a group composed of judges, lawyers and legal scholars, has wisely called for restricting the use of the penalty to cases “when this sanction is the sole alternative to a death sentence.”

In capital cases, life without parole is a sound option. Public support for the death penalty, a barbarity that should be abolished in this country, plummets when life without parole is an alternative. In many states, juries are instructed that it is an option. But the use of the sentence has gone far beyond death penalty cases, even as violent crime rates have declined.

In the last decade in Georgia, one of the few states with good data on the sentence, about 60 percent of offenders sentenced to life without parole were convicted of murder. The other 40 percent were convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, sex crimes, drug crimes and other crimes including shoplifting. Nationwide, the racial disparity in the penalty is stark. Blacks make up 56.4 percent of those serving life without parole, though they are 37.5 percent of prisoners in all state prisons.

The overuse of the sentence reflects this excessively punitive era. But as the institute’s report explains, an “ordinary” life sentence is “a punishment of tremendous magnitude” whose “true gravity should not be undervalued.” In the past 20 years, the average life term served has grown from 21 years to 29 years before parole...

...A fair-minded society should revisit life sentences and decide whether an offender deserves to remain in prison or be released on parole. And a fair-minded society should not sentence anyone to life without parole except as an alternative to the death penalty."

For full story:

The Misuse of Life Without Parole (New York Times, September 12 2011)

See also the following responses:

Life Sentence for Youths? (New York Times, September 18 2011)

Revisiting Life Sentences (New York Times, September 25 2011)

Make jail time a last resort

Make jail time a last resort - commentary by Jonathan E. Gradess on the report of the New York State Commission for Sentencing Reform, February 11, 2009.

"The recent report of the New York State Sentencing Commission, merely toying with sentencing reform, mirrors our past rather than breaking new ground. The Legislature should reject the report, send it to the State Archives, and begin anew...

...The Legislature should abolish all mandatory sentences and return full judicial discretion to judges. Prison sentences should be uniformly shorter, and non-incarcerative sentences should be available for every offense. Prison should be viewed and used as a last resort. The presumption of incarceration that has emerged should be replaced with meaningful procedures to fashion appropriate non-prison sentences. A continuum of non-incarcerative, treatment oriented, graduated sanctions should replace the simple "in" or "out" decision that currently characterizes sentencing. We should impose all sentences with an eye toward making people productive."

Jonathan E. Gradess is executive director of the New York State Defenders Association.

Prison panel calls for "revoking" parole

"The governor's Sentencing Commission garnered attention for its call to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Less noticed was its call for practically eliminating discretionary releases from state prisons.

When the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform issued its final report last week, most attention centered on its recommendation to reform the so-called Rockefeller drug laws. But the commission also proposed the virtual elimination of parole – a move with practical implications for thousands of prisoners and historical significance for the state..."

Editorial on the final report of the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, by Jarrett Murphy

The Future of Sentencing in New York State: Recommendations for Reform, by the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, January 30, 2009

The New York State Commission for Sentencing Reform has agreed on five major principles of drug law reform. The commissioners also recommend the establishment of a permanent sentencing commission for New York State to advise the Executive and Legislative branches on proposed legislation; the adoption of a largely determinate sentencing system to promote greater uniformity, fairness and truth-in-sentencing; the expansion of effective and cost-efficient shock incarceration and merit time initiatives to reduce recidivism and reserve costly prison space for the most dangerous offenders; and the enhancement of the rights of crime victims.

Press release from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services ...for immediate release: 12 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

Full Report (pdf)

Statement from the Press release:

Jeremy Travis, president of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the “Sentencing Commission has performed a valuable service, at a critical time in the state’s history.”

“By focusing squarely on the connection between public safety and sentencing policy, the Commission has provided a roadmap that will guide the state during difficult fiscal times,” President Travis said. “The Commission’s recommendations, if followed, will bring clarity to our patchwork quilt of accumulated sentencing reforms, improve reentry outcomes, and support more rational uses of our prisons and our parole system.”

For commentaries, see also:
Prison panel calls for "revoking" parole, by Jarrett Murphy, City Limits Weekly #674, February 9, 2009.
Make jail time a last resort, by Jonathan E. Gradess, Times Union, February 11, 2009.