Bill Text: HI SR147 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Parole; Compassionate Release

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-07 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-07-13. [SR147 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-SR147-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

147

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE HAWAII PAROLING AUTHORITY TO CREATE A two-YEAR PILOT PROGRAM FOR MEDICAL OR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE of CERTAIN ILL, DISABLED, AND GERIATRIC INMATES WHO POSE A LOW RISK TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

 

 


     WHEREAS, an ever increasing number of men and women are entering prison with serious medical illnesses, and many face the risk of developing a serious illness or disability, particularly prisoners with long mandatory sentences; and

 

     WHEREAS, reports of the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that between 1995 and 2010 the number of state and federal prisoners age fifty-five or older nearly quadrupled (increasing 282 percent), while the number of all prisoners grew by less than half (increasing forty-two percent); and

 

     WHEREAS, lengthy sentences and an aging population mean that correctional facilities in this State and across the United States are housing a growing number of elderly inmates who often have extensive medical needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, life in prison can be challenging to anyone, but it can be particularly hard for people whose bodies and minds are being whittled away by age; and

 

     WHEREAS, concerns over how society should deal with the aging and seriously ill prison population has led policy makers in many states to endorse early release on parole for older and seriously ill prisoners who pose a low risk to public safety; and

 

     WHEREAS, compassionate release consists of two entwined but distinct elements:  eligibility based on medical evidence and approval based on legal and correctional evidence; and

 

     WHEREAS, by age fifty, people are far less likely to commit serious crimes, as stated by one retired federal warden that arrest rates drop to two percent and arrest rates are almost nil at the age of sixty-five; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety Compassionate Release Statistics for 2009-2011 show that thirty-seven compassionate releases were recommended, twenty-two  compassionate releases were approved, and only fourteen individuals were released under the Compassionate Release Program, which means that sick and elderly inmates are dying alone in prison; and

 

     WHEREAS, compassionate release provides physicians and other medical professionals an opportunity to use their unique expertise and knowledge of prognosis, geriatrics, cognitive and functional decline, and palliative medicine to ensure that medical criteria for compassionate release are appropriately evidence-based; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety and the Hawaii Paroling Authority should initiate a compassionate release program with the following requirements and guidelines as described below:

 

     (1)  A written medical and psychosocial care plan that is specific to the inmate that includes, at a minimum, a recommended course of treatment for the inmate and a plan to provide continuity of care as the inmate transitions from prison to the community;

 

     (2)  An inmate may be considered for medical release if the inmate:  has an illness, disease, or medical condition with a prognosis to a reasonable medical probability that death will occur within one year; has a seriously debilitating and irreversible mental or physical condition that impairs the inmate's functional ability and that can be managed more appropriately in a community setting; or suffers from a serious, debilitating, and irreversible physical or mental condition related to aging that impairs the inmate's functional ability and is expected to require costly or complex care, treatment, or management;

 

     (3)  All requests for medical release shall be in writing and shall be made to the Hawaii Paroling Authority.  Requests may be made by the Director of Public Safety, an inmate, or an inmate's representative;

 

     (4)  If a request for medical release is made by the Director of Public Safety, the request shall contain the following information:

 

          (A)  A report from a Department of Public Safety physician stating whether or not the inmate meets the criteria for medical release and the basis for the physician's opinion; provided that the report shall state each diagnosis that applies to the inmate and the prognosis for each condition to a reasonable medical probability; provided further that where practicable, the physician shall discuss the results of any tests, studies, or physical findings that support the diagnosis and prognosis, and the nature and extent of the medical treatment that will most likely be required to manage the inmate's condition while incarcerated within the standard of care and where appropriate, the physician shall provide citations to relevant medical literature;

 

          (B)  A written evaluation prepared by the Director of Public Safety on the risk for violence and recidivism, if any, that the inmate poses to society in light of factors such as the inmate's medical condition, the severity of the offense for which the inmate is incarcerated, the inmate's prison record, and the medical release plan; and

 

          (C)  A medical release plan that provides for continuity of care;

 

     (5)  If a request for medical release is made by an inmate or the inmate's representative, the request shall state the grounds for the requested release and shall contain a statement as to where the inmate will reside if released, who will care for the inmate, and how the inmate plans to obtain medical care;

 

     (6)  All requests initiated by an inmate shall be referred to the Director of Public Safety immediately and within twenty days of receiving the request, the Department of Public Safety shall submit a medical release report to the Hawaii Paroling Authority containing the aforementioned information;

 

     (7)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall conduct a hearing on all requests for medical release within ten days of receiving a medical release report from the Department of Public Safety and the inmate and the inmate's representative is permitted to participate in the hearing and may submit medical and other evidence in support of the request;

 

     (8)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall independently determine whether the inmate meets the criteria for medical release and independently assesses the risk for violence and recidivism, if any, that the inmate poses to society;

 

     (9)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall provide the victim of the criminal act for which the inmate was sentenced, or the victim's family, with the opportunity to be heard; the Hawaii Paroling Authority shall grant or deny the request within two days following the hearing;

 

    (10)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall not grant medical release to an inmate who poses a danger to society;

 

    (11)  A denial of medical release by the Hawaii Paroling Authority shall not affect an inmate's eligibility for any other form of parole or release under applicable law; provided that the inmate may not reapply or be reconsidered for medical release unless there is a demonstrated change in the inmate's medical condition;

 

    (12)  The Director of Public Safety shall appoint an advocate for any inmate who requests medical release and is unable because of incapacitation or debilitation to advocate on the inmate's own behalf;

 

    (13)  The Department of Public Safety shall adopt a fast track procedure for the evaluation and release of rapidly dying prisoners; provided that the procedure shall be posted on the website of the Department of Public Safety and the Hawaii Paroling Authority;

 

    (14)  The medical release shall not be considered as a reduction of a minimum sentence; however, the Department of Public Safety is required to give the Prosecuting Attorney of the appropriate county notice of all requests for medical release as soon as practicable after a request is initiated, and the Prosecuting Attorney shall be permitted to participate in any medical release hearing conducted by the Hawaii Paroling Authority;

 

    (15)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall set reasonable conditions on an inmate's medical release that shall apply through the date upon which the inmate's sentence would have expired.  The conditions shall include the following:

 

          (A)  The released inmate shall be subject to supervision by the Hawaii Paroling Authority;

 

          (B)  Personnel of the Department of Public Safety shall be allowed to visit the inmate at reasonable times at the inmate's home or elsewhere; and

 

          (C)  The released inmate shall comply with all conditions of release set by the Hawaii Paroling Authority;

 

    (16)  The Hawaii Paroling Authority shall promptly order an inmate to be returned to the custody of the Director of Public Safety to await a revocation hearing if the Hawaii Paroling Authority receives credible information that an inmate has failed to comply with any reasonable condition set upon the inmate's medical release; and if the Hawaii Paroling Authority revokes an inmate's medical release for failure to comply with a condition of release, the inmate shall resume serving the remaining balance of the inmate's sentence, with credit given only for the duration of the inmate's medical release served in compliance with all reasonable conditions; and

 

    (17)  Revocation of an inmate's medical release for violating a condition of release does not affect an inmate's eligibility for any other form of parole or release provided by law; provided that revocation of an inmate's medical release may be used as a factor in determining eligibility for future parole or release; and

 

     WHEREAS, with the foregoing procedures, criminal justice professionals are able to better determine whether or not an inmate should be granted medical release; and

 

     WHEREAS, compassion is an integral part of the Aloha spirit; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the Department of Public Safety and the Hawaii Paroling Authority are requested to create a two-year pilot program for medical or compassionate release of certain ill, disabled, and geriatric inmates who pose a low risk to public safety in accordance with the aforementioned requirements and guidelines; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and the Hawaii Paroling Authority shall report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016 on findings and recommendations of the two-year pilot program for medical or compassionate release of certain ill, disabled, and geriatric inmates who pose a low risk to public safety; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public Safety and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Paroling Authority.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Parole; Compassionate Release

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