By Rep. Tom Hannegan
The Silver Grace Bill seeks to reduce the heavy burden born by the Missouri Department of Corrections and thus taxpayers for elderly prisoners who are statistically the least dangerous and most expensive occupants of our penal system.
This is not a “Get Out of Jail Free Card.” We are not arguing that the flood gates should open in Missouri prisons because an inmate reaches the age of 65. Rather, the bill would apply to incarcerated offenders 65 years of age or older who have no prior felony convictions of a violent nature, who are not convicted sexual offenders, and who are serving sentences of life without parole for a minimum of 50 years or more. Specific requirements for release would include:
· A record of good conduct.
· Demonstrated self-rehabilitation.
· A workable parole plan, including community and family support.
It is a fact that geriatric prisoners are the most costly portion of the prison population—costing the prison system twice as much as the average prisoners to incarcerate, according to the ACLU in “Graying Prison Population Costs U.S. $16 Billion Annually.”
Health issues such as sensory impairment, cognitive decline and incontinence are not only common with the elderly but pose risks as well as add great costs in prison. Consider that in its 2016 financial summary the Department of Corrections lists the governor’s recommended $145,398,471 allocation for medical services in prisons. This number represents 20% of the Department of Corrections’ entire allocated budget.
People who are sent to prison are often less healthy than the general population, having abused drugs and alcohol or neglected their health in some situations for many years, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts Foundation. In fact, prison is a particularly treacherous place to get old.
Nationally, it costs $34,135 per year to house an average prisoner. That number rises to $68,270 per year for a prisoner 50 and older. Thus releasing an elderly inmate would save the average prison system about of $66,294 per year.
There is no doubt, Missouri’s elderly prison population continues to rise exponentially each year. According to the Pacific Standard, in “The Elderly Prisoner Population is Soaring and So Are Its Costs,” in 1998, prisoners older than 50 represented 6% of the prison population, 10.1% in 2004 and 17.5% in 2013. From 1992 to 2012, the population of prisoners who are older than 55 increased by 550 percent.
KMBC News reported in March of 2015 that Missouri’s surging elderly prisoner population has even led prisons to recruit other inmates to care for aging cellmates through pre-hospice programs.
The current budget required to maintain Missouri’s prison population is now $710 million, according to the 2016 Missouri Department of Corrections Financial Summary, which is thirteen times as much as the $55 million it cost in 1982.
The News Tribune in February 2011, reported that prisoners released from prison at age 20 have a recidivism rate of 23% for new crimes after two years. For those older than 70, only 3.5% commit new crimes.
The continued incarceration of elderly prisoners does little to serve the principal purposes of punishment: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation.
We believe the top reasons to support this bill include:
· Mercy – These model inmates were never sentenced to death. They have already served more than 30 years in prison and we have the opportunity to show God’s mercy in action.
· Practicality – This bill creates an opportunity release the least dangerous and most expensive inmates from Missouri’s correctional system.
· Savings – By removing the most expensive inmates, Missouri could negotiate more favorable contract terms with health care providers.
Our recommended policy solution is a bill that would enable the incarcerated offender 65 years of age or older who has no prior felony convictions of a violent nature, who is not a convicted sexual offender, and who is serving a sentence of life without parole for a minimum of 50 years or more to receive a parole hearing upon serving 25 years or more of his or her sentence. The Board of Probation and Parole within the Department of Corrections would determine whether there is a reasonable probability that the offender will not violate the law upon release and therefore is eligible for release based upon a finding that the offender meets specified criteria. Any offender who is not granted parole under these provisions would be eligible for reconsideration every two years until a presumptive release date is established.
