Compassionate Release
Prisons are not set up to provide a dignified or peaceful environment for someone in the end stages of their life, although many staff and other people in custody do their best to make these individuals comfortable. Unfortunately, Oregon’s system for compassionate release from prison is in urgent need of reform. Despite an aging prison population, only a handful of individuals incarcerated in state prison who apply for compassionate release on the grounds of their severe or terminal illness are granted release. The system is opaque and confusing, timelines are too drawn out, and the process of decision-making isn’t medically informed. Most eligible people are failing to navigate the system successfully. People can be safely and humanely released to get the care they need at home with their loved ones, instead of remaining in prison.
An aging population
Oregon had the fourth largest aging prison population in the country back in 2015, and that population has grown as people serve lengthy sentences. As of January 2023, people in custody who are over 55 account for 17.4% of the total prison population. Their numbers are forecast to grow throughout the decade. Living in prison physiologically ages incarcerated people faster than those outside, significantly increasing their risk of cancers, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, dementia, and more. For people in hospice care in prison during their end-of-life stage, they are bedridden, seldom awake or lucid, and face barriers in receiving family and friend visitation.
People are dying awaiting release decisions
From 2013 to 2021, 166 adults in custody with severe medical conditions applied for compassionate medical release. Of those applicants, only 12 (less than 8%) were able to complete the process and were granted release. In that same period, 11 applicants passed away while waiting for an outcome. The average wait time for the 12 successful applicants released was 149 days. In addition to these lengthy delays, it is often difficult for families of adults in custody to spend precious remaining time with their loved ones.
Prison medical care is costly
The Oregon Department of Corrections has acknowledged that a small population of individuals with serious medical needs and conditions, takes up a significant chunk of their health services budget. These resources can be better spent on prison care and services that meet community standards. Passing compassionate medical release reform is expected to result in multi-million dollar savings that can be reinvested in rehabilitation, reentry programming, and improved medical care.
““One of the guys that I was on vigil with couldn’t talk, he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t do anything on his own. So, us hospice volunteers would clean him, change his adult diapers, and we would wheel him to the shower. The most he could do during any given time was moan.””
Next steps
A coalition including OJRC is supporting the passage of a bill to reform Oregon’s compassionate release system which has been introduced in the 2024 session. Senate Bill 1560 will create a task force on compassionate medical release. The task force will examine existing state statutes related to early medical release, will look at how the Parole Board handles these cases now, and will review practices in other states, among many other questions. The task force will be directed to report back to the legislature with its findings by the end of 2024.
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Further reading
OJRC: Relieving the Crisis of Dying in Prison (2023)
FAMM: Grading the States: the State Compassionate Release Report Card Project (2022)
Pew: Aging Prison Populations Drive Up Costs (2018)