BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Gloria Romero, Chair A
2007-2008 Regular Session B
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AB 1539 (Krekorian) 9
As Amended June 4, 2007
Hearing date: June 26, 2007
Penal Code
SM:br
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION :
RELEASE OF MEDICALLY INCAPACITATED INMATES :
RECALL AND RESENTENCING PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES
HISTORY
Source: Justice Now
Prior Legislation: AB 1946 (Steinberg) - 2003-2004; vetoed
AB 675 (Migden) - vetoed; 2001
AB 29 (Villagraigosa) -Ch. 751, Stats. 1997
Support: California School Employees Association; California
Public Defenders Association; A New Way of Life; AIDS
Healthcare Foundation; San Francisco AIDS Foundation;
American Civil Liberties Union; California Attorneys for
Criminal Justice; Breast Cancer Action; California
Catholic Conference; California Prison Focus;
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB);
Coalition for Effective Public Safety (CEPS); Diocese of
Oakland; Diocese of San Bernardino; Friends Committee on
Legislation; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children;
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office; Women of Color
Resource Center; California Commission on the Status of
Women; Free Battered Women; California Coalition for
Women Prisoners; California Women's Law Center;
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Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco; Youth Against
Youth Incarceration (YAYI); Taxpayers for Improving
Public Safety; Asian Communities for Reproductive
Justice; East Bay Community Law Center; American Friends
Service Committee; Justice Policy Institute; National
Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter; L.A. Youth
Justice Coalition; TGI Justice Project; Critical
Resistance; California Prison Moratorium Project
Opposition:California District Attorneys Association
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 41 - Noes 35
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD THE COURT HAVE THE DISCRETION TO RESENTENCE OR RECALL A
PRISONER'S SENTENCE WHEN THE PRISONER IS PERMANENTLY MEDICALLY
INCAPACITATED WITH A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT RENDERS HIM OR HER
PERMANENTLY UNABLE TO PERFORM ACTIVITIES OF BASIC DAILY LIVING, AND
RESULTS IN THE PRISONER REQUIRING 24-HOUR TOTAL CARE, AS SPECIFIED,
IF THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE PRISONER WOULD BE RELEASED DO NOT
POSE A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY?
SHOULD ADDITIONS BE MADE TO THE PROCEDURES REQUIRED TO BE COMPLETED
PRIOR TO THE RECALL OF A PRISONER'S SENTENCE FOR COMPASSIONATE
RELEASE, AS SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purposes of this bill are to 1) provide that the court shall
have the discretion to resentence or recall a prisoner's
sentence when the prisoner is permanently medically
incapacitated with a medical condition that renders him or her
permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living,
and results in the prisoner requiring 24-hour total care, as
specified, if the conditions under which the prisoner would be
released do not pose a threat to public safety; and 2) make
additions to the procedures required to be completed prior to
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the recall of a prisoner's sentence for compassionate release,
as specified.
Existing law does the following:
Provides that if the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Board of Parole
Hearings (BPH), or both determine that the prisoner has six
months or less to live and that the conditions under which
the prisoner would be released do not pose a threat to public
safety, the Secretary of CDCR or BPH may recommend to the
court that the prisoner's sentence be recalled. (Penal Code
1170 (e)(1).)
States that the court shall have discretion to recall or
resentence if the court finds both that the prisoner has six
months or less to live and the conditions under which the
prisoner would be released do not pose a threat to public
safety. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(2).)
Requires BPH to make findings regarding a prisoner's
eligibility for the recall and resentencing procedure prior
to making a recommendation to the court. A prisoner
sentenced to death or to a term of life without the
possibility of parole is not eligible for the recall and
resentencing procedure. (Penal Code 1170 (a)(2)(B).)
Requires the court to hold a hearing to consider whether a
prisoner's sentence should be recalled within 10 days of
receipt of a positive recommendation by the Secretary of CDCR
or BPH. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(3).)
Provides that the prisoner or his or her family member or
designee may request consideration for recall and
resentencing by contacting the chief medical officer at the
prison or the Secretary of CDCR. If the Secretary of CDCR
determines that the prisoner satisfies the criteria, the
Secretary or BPH may recommend to the court that the
prisoner's sentence be recalled. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(4).)
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States that the Secretary shall submit a recommendation for
release within 30 days in the case of inmates sentenced to
determinate terms. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(4).)
Provides that in the case of inmates sentenced to
indeterminate terms, the Secretary may make a recommendation
to BPH with respect to inmates who have applied for
consideration for recall and resentencing. (Penal Code
1170 (e)(4).)
Allows the BPH to make an independent judgment as to whether
the inmate is eligible and to make findings related thereto
before rejecting the request or making a recommendation to
the Court. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(4).)
Provides that any recommendation for recall submitted to the
court by CDCR or BPH shall include one or more medical
evaluations, a post-release plan, and findings made as to the
prisoner's eligibility. (Penal Code 1170 (e)(5).)
This bill does the following:
Provides that the court shall have the discretion to
resentence or recall if the court finds that the facts in
items (a) and (b) or items (b) and (c) below exist:
a) The prisoner is terminally ill with an incurable
condition caused by an illness or disease that would
produce death within 6 months, as determined by a physician
employed by the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR).
b) The conditions under which the prisoner would be
released or receive treatment do not pose a threat to
public safety.
c) The prisoner is permanently medically incapacitated with
a medical condition that renders him or her permanently
unable to perform activities of basic daily living, and
results in the prisoner requiring 24-hour total care,
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including, but not limited to, coma, persistent vegetative
state, brain death, ventilator-dependency, loss of control
of muscular or neurological function, and that
incapacitation did not exist at the time of the original
sentencing.
Requires a physician employed by CDCR who determines that a
prisoner has 6 months or less to live to inform the
appropriate chief medical officer of that fact.
States that if the chief medical officer concurs, he or she is
required to inform the warden of that fact.
Provides that within 48 hours of receiving notification, the
warden or warden's representative shall notify the prisoner of
the recall and resentencing procedures and shall arrange for
the prisoner to designate a family member or other outside
agent to be notified as to the prisoner's medical condition
and prognosis and as to the recall and resentencing
procedures.
States that if the inmate is deemed mentally unfit, the warden
or warden's representative shall contact the inmate's
emergency contact and provide the information on resentencing
and recall procedures.
Requires the warden or warden's representative to provide the
prisoner and his or her family member, agent, or emergency
contact updated information throughout the recall and
resentencing process with regard to the prisoner's medical
condition and the status of the prisoner's recall and
resentencing proceedings.
Allows the prisoner, his or her family member or designee to
independently request consideration for recall and
resentencing by contacting the chief medical officer at the
prison or the Secretary of CDCR.
Provides that upon receipt of an independent request, the chief
medical officer and the warden or the warden's representative
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shall follow the procedures set forth with respect to
determinations by any physician employed by CDCR that a prisoner
has 6 months or less to live.
States that if the Secretary of CDCR determines that the
prisoner meets the criteria for recall and resentencing, the
Secretary shall make a recommendation to the BPH with respect
to inmates sentenced to indeterminate terms.
Provides that if the court grants the recall and resentencing
application, the prisoner shall be released within 48 hours
unless a longer time is agreed to by the inmate.
States that at the time of release, the warden or the warden's
representative shall ensure that the prisoner has each of the
following in his or her possession:
a) A discharge medical summary;
b) Full medical records;
c) State identification;
d) Parole medications; and,
e) All property belonging to the prisoner.
Requires that, after discharge, any additional records shall
be sent to the prisoner's forwarding address.
Requires the Secretary of CDCR to issue a directive to
medical and correctional staff that details the guidelines
and procedures for initiating a recall and re-sentencing
procedure. States that the directive shall clearly state
that any prisoner given a prognosis of 12 months or less to
live is eligible for recall and re-sentencing consideration,
and that recall and resentencing procedures shall be
initiated upon that prognosis.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION IMPLICATIONS
California currently faces an extraordinary and severe prison
and jail overcrowding crisis. California's prison capacity is
nearly exhausted as prisons today are being operated with a
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significant level of overcrowding.<1> In addition, California's
jails likewise are significantly overcrowded. Twenty California
counties are operating under jail population caps. According to
the State Sheriffs' Association, "counties are currently
releasing 18,000 pre and post-sentenced inmates every month and
many counties are so overcrowded they do not accept misdemeanor
bookings in any form, . . . ."<2> In January of this year the
Legislative Analyst's office summarized the trajectory of
California's inmate population over the last two decades:
During the past 20 years, jail and prison
populations have increased significantly. County
jail populations have increased by about 66
percent over that period, an amount that has been
limited by court-ordered population caps. The
prison population has grown even more dramatically
during that period, tripling since the
mid-1980s.<3>
The level of overcrowding, and the impact of the population
crisis on the day-to-day prison operations, is staggering:
As of December 31, 2006, the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) was
estimated to have 173,100 inmates in the state
prison system, based on CDCR's fall 2006
population projections. However, . . . the
department only operates or contracts for a total
of 156,500 permanent bed capacity (not including
out-of-state beds, . . . ), resulting in a
shortfall of about 16,600 prison beds relative to
the inmate population. The most significant bed
shortfalls are for Level I, II, and IV inmates, as
well as at reception centers. As a result of the
--------------------
<1> Analysis of the 2007-08 Budget Bill: Judicial and Criminal
Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (February 21, 2007).
<2> Memorandum from CSSA President Gary Penrod to Governor,
February 14, 2007.
<3> California's Criminal Justice System: A Primer.
Legislative Analyst's Office (January 2007).
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bed deficits, CDCR houses about 10 percent of the
inmate population in temporary beds, such as in
dayrooms and gyms. In addition, many inmates are
housed in facilities designed for different
security levels. For example, there are currently
about 6,000 high security (Level IV) inmates
housed in beds designed for Level III inmates.
. . . (S)ignificant overcrowding has both
operational and fiscal consequences. Overcrowding
and the use of temporary beds create security
concerns, particularly for medium- and
high-security inmates. Gyms and dayrooms are not
designed to provide security coverage as well as
in permanent housing units, and overcrowding can
contribute to inmate unrest, disturbances, and
assaults. This can result in additional state
costs for medical treatment, workers'
compensation, and staff overtime. In addition,
overcrowding can limit the ability of prisons to
provide rehabilitative, health care, and other
types of programs because prisons were not
designed with sufficient space to provide these
services to the increased population. The
difficulty in providing inmate programs and
services is exacerbated by the use of program
space to house inmates. Also, to the extent that
inmate unrest is caused by overcrowding,
rehabilitation programs and other services can be
disrupted by the resulting lockdowns.<4>
As a result of numerous lawsuits, the state has entered into
several consent decrees agreeing to improve conditions in the
state's prisons. As these cases have continued over the past
several years, prison conditions nonetheless have failed to
improve and, over the last year, the scrutiny of the federal
courts over California's prisons has intensified.
In February of 2006, the federal court appointed a receiver to
---------------------------
<4> Analysis 2007-08 Budget Bill, supra, fn. 1.
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take over the direct management and operation of the prison
medical health care delivery system from the state. Motions
filed in December of 2006 are now pending before three federal
court judges in which plaintiffs are seeking a court-ordered
limit on the prison population pursuant to the federal Prison
Litigation Reform Act. Medical, mental health and dental care
programs at CDCR each are "currently under varying levels of
federal court supervision based on court rulings that the state
has failed to provide inmates with adequate care as required
under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The courts
found key deficiencies in the state's correctional programs,
including: (1) an inadequate number of staff to deliver health
care services, (2) an inadequate amount of clinical space within
prisons, (3) failures to follow nationally recognized health
care guidelines for treating inmate-patients, and (4) poor
coordination between health care staff and custody staff."<5>
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison and jail
overcrowding crisis outlined above.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
The compassionate release law was enacted because
prisons should not act as long term health care
providers for terminally ill prisoners. Their care
comprises a disproportionate portion of the CDCR's
budget. AB 1539, the Medical Release and Fiscal
Savings Bill, seeks to modify the CDCR compassionate
release process by increasing the awareness of CDCR
staff and families of terminally ill prisoners
regarding the compassionate release process, and to
extend the reach of the law to include prisoners who
----------------------
<5> Primer, supra, fn. 4.
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are permanently medically incapacitated,
significantly increasing fiscal savings from their
release.
Far too many terminally ill and medically
incapacitated inmates have died in correctional
institutions although they were eligible for, but
never received, recall and re-sentencing
consideration. The release of even a few terminally
ill and permanently medically incapacitated inmates,
who can no longer pose a threat to the public safety,
saves state taxpayers hundreds of thousands of
dollars, allows California families the chance to
heal, and provides these women and men with
appropriate end-stage medical and palliative care.
Medical release under these circumstances is both
humane and cost-effective. The current statute in
the California Penal Code was an important step
toward establishing a procedure for early medical
release. This legislation will ensure that the
process is effective and will result in significant
fiscal savings in the state's General Fund without
reducing public safety.
2. Geriatric and Medically Incapacitated Inmates
In 2005, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) issued, "A
Primer: Three Strikes - The Impact after More Than a Decade,"
(LAO, October 2005). This report found that, due in large part
to sentencing laws such as "three-strikes," the California
prison population is getting older and that this trend will
continue, with significant fiscal implications.
The average age of the inmate population has risen
from 32 to 36 since 1994. Moreover, the number of
inmates 50 years of age and older has increased from
about 5,500 to 16,300 between 1994 and 2004.
This aging prison population is likely due to two
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factors. The first and probably more significant
factor is the enactment of sentencing laws (such as
the Three Strikes Law) to provide longer terms and,
in some cases, life terms. Such laws, designed to
incarcerate offenders for longer periods, result in a
larger and older prison population in the long run.
Thus, as the three strikes population grows and ages
(probably at least until 2014), the overall prison
population will likely grow older as well. The
second factor is that the aging of the prison
population simply reflects the aging of the citizenry
as a whole. The so-called "baby boom" generation is
getting older; so are the criminals of the baby boom
generation.
The aging of the prison population over the past
decade has the potential for significant fiscal
consequences. As inmates age, the cost of housing
those inmates increases due to age-related illness
and associated health care costs, as well as the
security and transportation costs of moving these
inmates between prisons and local hospitals.
Estimates are that housing and caring for elderly
inmates costs between two and three times more than
the $35,000 it costs in 2005-06 to incarcerate the
average inmate. Therefore, as the three strikes
population continues to grow and age in prison, the
state costs to incarcerate them will also continue to
escalate.
In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger assembled the Corrections
Independent Review Panel (IRP). Chaired by former Governor
George Deukmeijian, the IRP was tasked with conducting a
comprehensive review of California's corrections system and
making recommendations for reform. With respect to older
inmates, the IRP stated, "(a)s a further means of reducing the
prison population, the panel recommends identifying older
inmates who could safely be released early, consistent with
similar programs operating in several other states."
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IS THE AGING OF THE PRISON POPULATION CONTRIBUTING TO THE
OVERCROWDING CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA PRISONS?
3. Incapacitated Inmates - An Example
Background information provided by the author includes the
following example of a prisoner who, if he lives long enough,
could be impacted by this bill:
Mr. Kevin Devereaux is currently being held at High
Desert State Prison for a non-violent offense. He
suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive,
debilitating terminal illness which has left him in a
permanently incapacitated state with 6 months or less
to live. His illness leads to the irreversible and
progressive weakness and wasting of the muscles and
will shortly kill Mr. Devereaux by depriving him of
the ability to eat and breathe. This illness has
currently left him with the permanent inability to
use his upper extremities and minimal use of his
legs. He is unable to care for his own daily needs
such as bathing, dressing and feeding, requiring
around the clock medical attention and skilled
nursing type care which his family is both ready and
capable of providing. There is no medical treatment
that can improve Mr. Devereaux's condition. Mr.
Devereaux has no history of violence either inside or
outside of prison; he would not pose a threat to
society were he released to the care of his competent
family and friends. Mr. Devereaux's release was
first denied because he was incapacitated yet not
terminal. Now that his death is imminent, Mr.
Devereaux's request to the California Department of
Corrections for compassionate release in order to
spend his last days with his family was denied; since
his family has been given no access to information as
to why his case was denied, they have no way to
respond. (Emphasis in original.)
DOES THE CONTINUED INCARCERATION OF A PRISONER IN THIS CONDITION
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SERVE ANY LEGITIMATE PENOLOGICAL PURPOSE?
4. Fiscal Impact
Background information provided by the author states:
Since 2005, the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) budget has increased by nearly $2
billion.<6> CDCR healthcare costs have increased by more
than $556 million.<7> The release of terminally ill and
permanently incapacitated people in prison under AB 1539,
who do not pose a threat to the public, will result in
substantial cost savings to the State, potentially in excess
of $10 million annually. This savings will result not
merely because some people will be released and CDCR's
population will decrease, but primarily because the people
released are particularly expensive to house and provide
medical care to in the prison setting.
Care for terminally ill and permanently incapacitated people
is extremely expensive - about $120,000 per year
According to a study done by the Assembly Committee
on Appropriations in 2007 in regards to AB 1539, the
medical release law will result in minor absorbable
administrative costs to the CDCR. These costs will
be offset greatly by savings from the release of
terminally ill and permanently incapacitated people
whose care is extremely expensive - about $120,000
per year per dying/or medically incapacitated
inmate.<8> Based on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee findings, if the expanded criteria and
----------------------
<6> Figures from Governor's proposed 2007-08 CDCR Budget, page
1. Also see CDCR 2006 and 2005 Facts & Figures
http://www.cya.ca.gov/DivisionsBoards/AOAP/FactsFigures.html,
showing a CDCR budget in 2006 of $8.75 billion and $7.4 billion
for 2005.
<7> Figures from Governor's proposed CDCR Budget, page 24.
<8> Based on Analysis prepared by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee on May 9, 2007, for AB 1539.
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clearer processes resulted in an average of just 10
more medical releases per year - at the conservative
estimate of $60,000 saved per dying or medically
incapacitated prisoner with a 6-month average
reduction in time served - annual CDCR savings would
exceed $600,000.<9>
Medi-Cal costs savings incurred by the State
A corresponding increase in state Medi-Cal costs - to
the extent that these 10 people are cared for in
skilled nursing facilities while on Medi-Cal -
amounts to $50,000 per year per terminally ill or
permanently incapacitated person released, only half
of which is a state cost.<10> Thus, the financial
savings of releasing 10 people per year would total
approximately $475,000 annually.<11>
Based on past medical release cases, it is fair to
estimate that about half the people released under
the medical release law will be cared for at home and
not in skilled nursing facilities, in which case the
Medi-Cal cost incurred to the state is even smaller
and the total annual savings even higher.
Potential increase of 30% more cases being referred
We estimate that procedural safeguards and
streamlining of the medical release process achieved
----------------------
<9> Substantial increases in costs have been attributed to
settlement and litigation costs the CDCR is facing.
<10> Medi-Cal cost analysis based on 2007 figures prepared by
Geoff Long (APPR. (916) 319-2081) with same proportional
increase as cost of holding prisoners in the CDCR. In reality,
savings will be larger because Medi-Cal costs have probably not
increased nearly as much as CDCR's costs.
<11> $10,000 [CDCR cost of healthcare and imprisonment per
month] - $2083 [cost of Medi-Cal to state per month] = $7916 =
cost savings per month. $7916 x 10 people x 6 months reduced
off sentence = $474,960.
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through AB 1539 will triple these projected savings
for terminally ill people alone. About 30% of all
medical release cases never reach the CDCR Director's
level of review because of barriers to accessing the
process and lack of procedural safeguards.
If the annual average number of cases presented to
the CDCR Director were increased by only 30%, 61
terminally ill people in prison would be considered
for medical release each year.<12> If 85% of those
cases (considering that about 70% of people in prison
are there for non-violent offenses and another 15%
would also pose no threat to society) were approved,
based on the Assembly Appropriations Committee cost
analysis figures above, the cost savings to the State
would be nearly $2.5 million annually, and cost
savings to the CDCR would be $3.1 million.<13>
In addition, AB 1539 achieves significant long-term
cost savings by expanding the class of people
eligible for medical release to include permanently
incapacitated people, i.e. incapacitated by a medical
condition that renders them permanently unable to
move without assistance, permanently unable to
perform activities of daily living without
assistance, or permanently ventilator-dependent. In
February 2003, the CDCR was treating 13 prisoners
requiring long-term quadriplegic care or long-term
total care needs that would benefit from AB 1539. If
only 10 of these people were released with a 5-year
average reduction in time served, the savings to the
state would be nearly $4.75 million, and savings to
----------------------
----------------------
<12> Based on figures from CDCR Dept of Classification, Joy
Hirai. Average of 47 people per year medically released in
years 1998-2006.
<13> 85% of 61 = 52 people released. 52 x $47,500 [savings to
state for 6 month reduction in sentence] = $2.47 million. 52 x
$60,000 [savings from 6 month reduction in sentence] =
3,120,000.
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the CDCR would be $6 million.<14>
Since the budget for CDCR healthcare services is from
the General Fund, expanding the existing medical
release process to include permanently incapacitated
people would provide significant General Fund
savings.<15>
According to the figures above, AB 1539 is a way to
potentially save the state of California more than
$7.25 million annually, and to save the CDCR more
than $9.1 million.
IS IT APPROPRIATE TO ALLOW FOR THE RELEASE OF PERMANENTLY
INCAPACITATED INMATES WHO HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO POSE NO THREAT TO
PUBLIC SAFETY?
5. Governor's Veto Message on AB 1946
AB 1946 (Steinberg), of the 2003-04 Legislative Session, was
substantially similar to this bill. On September 24, 2004,
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1946. In his veto message,
the Governor stated:
AB 1946 could result in the release of prisoners
convicted of serious and violent felonies.
Additionally, medically incapacitated prisoners could
be released, and this bill does not provide any
mechanism to return these prisoners to custody in the
event they somehow would become a threat to public
safety, or the prisoners condition were to improve to
the point that they no longer were medically
incapacitated.
AB 1946 would modify the CDCR Compassionate Release
Program by allowing medically incapacitated inmates
----------------------
<14> The annual cost savings to the government of providing
health care to an incapacitated person are about $95,000
($120,000 [health care & incarceration costs] - $25,000
[Medi-Cal costs/ year]). $95,000 x 10 incapacitated people x 5
years average reduced in sentence = $4,750,000. Cost savings to
CDCR would be $120,000 x 10 incapacitate people x 5 years = $6
million.
<15> See Governor's proposed 2007-08 CDCR budget.
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to be considered for release or resentencing. AB
1496 would allow that the court may resentence or
recall a sentence if the court finds that the
conditions under which the prisoner would be released
or receive treatment do not pose a threat to public
safety, and the prisoner is incapacitated by a
medical condition that renders him or her permanently
disabled.
6. Statements in Support
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office states:
AB 1539 seeks to modify the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitations compassionate release
process by increasing the awareness of CDCR staff and
families of terminally ill prisoners regarding the
compassionate release process, and by extending the
reach of the law to include prisoners who are
permanently medically incapacitated.
The release of terminally ill and permanently
medically incapacitated prisoners who pose no risk to
the public will result in substantial cost savings to
the State and will help to reduce prison
overcrowding. It is also the right thing to do.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation states:
California law currently provides a mechanism whereby
state prison inmates with less than 6 months to live
can have their sentences recalled and resentenced.
Unfortunately, this process is hardly ever used under
the current construct.
AB 1539 ensures greater attention by correctional
medical officers to the incapacitated patients and
provides explicit steps that corrections officials
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must take to facilitate the ability of the inmate and
his/her representatives to engage the compassionate
release laws.
It is inhumane for an inmate who is unable to care
for his/her needs to continue to be confined when
they can receive better and more compassionate
end-stage care in the community. Moreover, it is a
waste of state resources to continue to confine a
very sick and very expensive inmate who poses no
threat to the public safety. Finally, it is a shame
to have a public policy on compassionate release that
is unknown and unused.
The California Catholic Conference states:
The release of terminally ill prisoners who can no
longer pose a threat to the public safety of the
state saves the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of
dollars and provides these inmates with the
opportunity to experience appropriate end-stage
medical and palliative care surrounded by those who
can care for them. Most of these individuals will
need to spend this last amount of time with their
families.
In the pastoral letter, "Evangelium Vitae" John Paul
II wrote, "and when earthly existence draws to a
close, it is again charity which finds the most
appropriate means for enabling . . . those who can no
longer look after themselves, and the terminally ill,
to enjoy genuinely human existence and to receive an
adequate response to their needs, and in particular
their anxiety and their loneliness."
7. Statement in Opposition
The California District Attorney's Association states:
Under the current program, the expectation is that a
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qualified individual will live no longer than six
months. This bill dispenses with that notion and
vastly expands the program without unambiguous
direction as to who else might qualify. For example
the term "24-hour total care" is unclear. Would that
require a caretaker to be at the person's side for
literally 24 hours per day or could that be
interpreted to mean that the person lives in his
parents' house where someone is on the premises at all
times? Additionally, while a coma or brain death
should be easily identified, the same cannot be said
for a "loss of control of muscular or neurological
function." The bottom line is that this bill runs
counter to the notion that a person convicted of a
crime should serve his or her sentence.
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