By Meghan Friedmann
The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
NEW ORLEANS — In Louisiana, sick inmates with less than 60 days to live are eligible for a special release program, but they sometimes die before their requests make it through the administrative process.
A proposal in the state Legislature aims to alleviate that problem and give more inmates the chance to spend their final days outside prison by expanding program eligibility to people with less than 120 days to live.
The proposal could face pushback in a state that has recently focused on toughening its crime laws. But House Bill 399 by state Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R- Houma, is backed by a coalition of criminal justice advocates, religious leaders and the state corrections department.
“If they are allowed to die in a bed with a family member next to them, it makes a big difference instead of dying in a hospital bed with a shackle next to you,” Department of Public Safety & Corrections Secretary Gary Westcott said during a March 10 House Appropriations Committee meeting.
Westcott, who said sick inmates typically no longer threaten public safety, says he has been signing off on releases at a higher rate than previous secretaries.
Releasing such inmates also is expected to save Louisiana money, Westcott said. The state pays for inmates’ healthcare, and it is particularly expensive to house terminally ill prisoners. Releasees often become eligible for Medicaid.
“The problem right now with 60 days is, by the time the paperwork is processed, most of the individuals pass away before they even get the review finished,” Zeringue said.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Gov. Jeff Landry, said the governor would not yet comment on whether he would sign HB 399 into law because it was too early in the legislative process.
Louisiana takes a much stricter approach to the release of terminally ill prisoners than other states, according to Zeringue.
Much of the country makes prisoners eligible for release when they have a year left to live, and the next-shortest timeline as compared to Louisiana’s is six months, according to Molly Crane. Crane works for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a prison reform group that advocates for second chances.
Because medical prognoses can be complex, many states do not require a specific life expectancy, Crane said.
The bill also has backing from the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, which asked Zeringue to submit the proposal.
HB 399 “affirms the dignity of every human person by expanding compassionate release for inmates who are terminally ill, allowing them access to appropriate and humane end-of-life care,” the group said in a statement.
Another way sick inmates can get released is with the approval of the Board of Pardon and Paroles, which has different eligibility requirements. Westcott told the Appropriations Committee he has been encouraging the panel to approve those releases when possible.
“I don’t control what the parole board does, but I have discussions with them every day about how important it is to try to allow these guys to get out if they’re able to,” he said.
“There has to be some sense of common sense when it comes to letting some of these people out,” Westcott added. “They’re not going to harm anybody. They’re not at a point where they’re going to cause any more damage. I mean we’ve got guys that have been in prison sixty some years. They’re in their late 70s or 80s.”
HB199 does not deal with applications for release that are under the purview of the parole board, only with dying inmates who apply tp the corrections secretary for release
The proposal comes as Louisiana faces rising prison costs and a growing state inmate population. Two years after lawmakers drastically reduced parole opportunities and cut how much credit inmates can get shaved off their sentences for good behavior, the state’s prison population has increased by 2,000 people.
Some state officials, including Westcott, say it is too soon to see how the crime laws impact Louisiana. At the Appropriations Committee hearing, he argued judges and prosecutors will reduce prison sentences in response to the new laws, and that the laws will cut down on incarceration by reducing recidivism.
But corrections officials have acknowledged that high medical costs are an issue, blaming inflation instead of the rising population.
How might expanding compassionate release impact staff workload, safety, or facility operations?
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