Understanding Compassionate Release: A Path to Prison Reform

• William Gall

Do you know why terminally ill prisoners die in prison instead of being with their families?

Listen closely, because you won’t believe these statistics:

A shocking 16.1% of compassionate release requests are approved. The rest? Over 80% of dying, elderly, and severely ill prisoners remain behind bars. Even if they pose no threat to society.

But here’s the kicker:

Taxpayers pay for it. Big time.

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) spends 2-3 times more per inmate on elderly prisoners than younger ones. Billions of taxpayer dollars on warehousing prisoners who no longer pose a threat and can’t get rehabilitated.

But here’s the good news…

Compassionate release from prison is a smart, necessary way to reform our prison system. It’s about using data and common sense to recognize some people behind bars are too old, too sick, or facing extraordinary circumstances where imprisonment serves no useful purpose.

Imagine a grandma in prison with Alzheimer’s dementia who can’t even recognize where she is. A 55-year-old dad with six months to live dying of Stage 4 cancer behind bars. Are they a danger to society?

What you will learn:

• Why Compassionate Release is a Necessary Part of Prison Reform
• The Sobering Statistics on the Compassionate Release Program
• Qualifications for Compassionate Release and Who Is Eligible
• Challenges Facing the Prison System and What Can Be Done

Why Compassionate Release Is a Necessary Part of Prison Reform

Listen to this:

Our prison system is aging. Rapidly.

The number of prisoners 55 and older increased by 234% between 1999 and 2013. The numbers went from 43,000 to 144,500 elderly inmates.

Here’s the thing:

Prisons aren’t nursing homes. They weren’t designed or built for dementia patients in wheelchairs or inmates who can’t walk and need 24-hour medical care.

So what happens?

Substandard medical care for aging inmates at exorbitant taxpayer expense.

The Sobering Statistics on the Compassionate Release Program

Hit the replay button, because this is going to knock your socks off:

According to ACLU research cited earlier in this article, states could save an average of $66,294 per year, per prisoner, by releasing aging prisoners.

And that’s just one study. And one state. On average.

Bureau of Prisons director Carvajal estimated releasing 100 people through compassionate release would save taxpayers $5.8 million per year.

But the real kicker…

Only 16.1% of requests for compassionate release were approved in FY 2024 (ending September 30, 2024). That’s up from 13.8% the previous year but still embarrassingly low.

Here’s a mind-blowing stat:

Between 2013 and 2017, the average approval rate was a paltry 6%.

Seriously?

Why are the numbers so pitifully low?

The system is broken. Inefficient. Outdated.

Qualifications for Compassionate Release and Who Is Eligible

So who can receive compassionate release?

Here are the criteria:

Terminal illness

A life expectancy of 18 months or less. Cancer, end-stage disease, conditions that will imminently kill you.

Debilitating medical conditions

A condition causing total disability, meaning a prisoner must be confined to bed or chair for more than half of waking hours. End-stage Alzheimer’s, advanced Parkinson’s disease, paralysis, and similar total incapacity.

Elderly inmates

Age 65 or older who have served at least 75% of their sentence or at least 10 years. Or at least 70 and have served at least 30 years.

Family circumstances

Your spouse is incapacitated and you are their sole caregiver. Your child’s sole caregiver dies and you’re their parent.

Seems fair, right?

The problem is, even people who clearly qualify under these compassionate release guidelines often don’t get released.

Challenges Facing the Prison System and What Can Be Done

These are the main reasons the system is broken and what can be done to fix it.

Bureaucratic hell

The process is maddening. A bureaucratic nightmare, filled with medical records, evaluations, legal documents, and mountains of paper the average prisoner can’t handle. Especially if they’re elderly and dying.

Time frame? Some people literally die waiting for a response.

Narrow interpretations of criteria

Agency officials interpret the rules so narrowly that almost no one qualifies. Terminal illness? Better to have that “magic” 18-month life expectancy. One day over, no dice.

The whole system needs modernization. Expanded guidelines. Decision makers who actually understand compassion and justice are not opposites.

Political cowardice

Nobody wants to be the governor or attorney general who releases a 70-year-old just to have them commit another crime. Even though people 65 and older have almost zero percent recidivism.

The truth politicians don’t want you to know…

Elderly and seriously ill inmates are the safest bet for release. They are too old, infirm, and/or physically impaired to commit crimes anymore.

Here’s what’s changed for the better:

The First Step Act (FSA) signed into law in 2018, gave prisoners the right to file compassionate release requests directly with courts. Before the FSA, only the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) could file. The prisoner had no say in the matter.

As a result of the FSA?

Requests jumped from an average of 21 per year to literally thousands in 2023.

The problem? Even with prisoners now able to directly petition the courts, the system can’t handle the volume.

Why Compassionate Release Is a Necessary Part of Prison Reform

It’s not about being soft on crime. Punishment is not a biblical tenet. Neither is justice.

The justice system should be humane in all things. Compassionate release is a recognition of basic common sense. Even in the justice system, mercy has a place.

Listen to this:

A prisoner dying of Stage 4 cancer. A prisoner with end-stage Alzheimer’s. A mother of five kids with six months to live.

Does society punish these people? Imprison families? Turn children into orphans? Waste billions of taxpayer dollars warehousing people who are no threat and can’t get rehabilitated?

If not punishment, what is the point of jailing these people?

Bureaucrats won’t answer that question, so here’s the answer:

They don’t know. Nobody knows. There’s no data. The only certainty is that keeping people with terminal illness or debilitating medical conditions in prison makes no sense. Financially. Morally.

The Path Forward

States are beginning to catch up.

Minnesota expanded and modernized its Compassionate Release program earlier this year. Others are simplifying the paperwork and making it easier for terminally ill and elderly people to apply.

But they need to do more.

The federal system must reform its own creaky Compassionate Release system. State programs should be patterned after the federal system to allow prisoners to directly petition the court.

We need:

Clear guidelines Reasonable time limits Decision makers who recognize justice and compassion are partners. Not enemies.

The best news?

Americans of all political stripes already get it. The smart money says Americans support compassionate release programs by 70%. Liberals and conservatives agree.

Even some hard-on-crime politicians are waking up. Keeping 70-year-olds dying of cancer in prison, even if they pose no threat, makes no sense. Financially or morally.

Bottom line?

Compassionate release from prison is not some radical leftist ideal. It’s basic humanity. Even prisoners are human beings who deserve dignity. Dying human beings who deserve to be with their families. Taxpayers deserve criminal justice money spent wisely.

Nearly 300 people have been released from prison through advocacy programs. It’s a start, but only a start.

Thousands of other sick, elderly, and terminally ill prisoners wait in prison cells. Waiting for cancer to spread, dementia to worsen. Waiting for families to finally give up and stop calling prison because they just know their loved one will die before they can see them.

States must do more. The system can do better. It must.

Because ultimately, compassionate release from prison isn’t about inmates, criminals, or stats.

It’s about human beings.

Human beings.

And when it comes to those behind bars, mercy still has a place in the American justice system.

Mercy is not weakness. It’s strength.