This bill allows certain convicted persons who have a chronic medical condition, are terminally ill, or gravely disabled to file a petition for sentence modification, without the consent of the prosecuting attorney. If passed, this bill would create a system of medical and geriatric reprieve to support safe, evidence-based pathways to release for the elderly and those with terminal, costly, life-hampering, and/or life-threatening medical conditions.
Additionally, the bill would incentivize the pursuit of work, education, vocational achievement, and treatment by people on parole. And it would increase government transparency and efficacy around “offender progress reports” by providing people who are incarcerated with a chance to identify errors before release and by ensuring relevant supervising agencies have access to the reports, allowing individuals to build on progress made behind bars.
The reforms in this bill are positive steps forward in increasing dignity and fairness for prisoners in our state.
