We've heard of it. An elderly inmate in a prison becomes seriously ill with a possibly fatal illness, and because the system allows him to do so, he applies to be considered for "compassionate release": to be released from prison early, and end his days, presumably soon, on the outside.
So does this happen often with cases of inmates with PCa? It would certainly seem possible, as the men primarily eligible for this form of early release would presumably be elderly, and thus in the prime group to develop PCa.
But some research I have done shows that consideration of inmates for compassionate release, also known as "medical parole," can get complicated, even for those with possibly terminal PCa.
And my research also shows that it seems to be pretty rare for cases of PCa to get compassionate release, and the why of this is explained below.
First, there are two sets of rules that govern this process: federal (for federal prisons, obviously) and state rules.
Highlights of federal rules (taken from various websites):
Despite both Democratic and Republican support of the concept, prison officials use it only sparingly. From 2013 to 2017, the Bureau of Prisons approved only 6 percent of the 5,400 applications received, while 266 inmates who had requested compassionate release died in custody. Requests denied by the prison system can be appealed to a judge, who decides the issue. Prison doctors assess inmates, who must be either completely disabled or judged to have fewer than 18 months left to live (the federal rule). Inmates must have acceptable homes waiting for them on the outside. An average of six months for inmates to learn decision following application for release. State prison system rules are similar:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/list-of-state-and-federal-compassionate-or-geriatric-release-parole-laws-in-the-united_tbl1_275652571Interesting specifics of federal rules (from a website):
"The prisoner must satisfy two criteria to receive such a reduction based on compassionate release: (1) Extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction; and (2) The prisoner is at least 70 years of age, has served at least 30 years in prison on the original sentence, and a determination has been made by the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) that the prisoner is not a danger to the safety of any other person or the community ... (but also) In addition to the 70 years of age and 30-year penal incarceration, compassionate release can also be granted when the prisoner is 65 years or older; is suffering from a chronic medical condition; has experienced deteriorating physical or mental decline brought on by the condition; and is not likely to improve with conventional medical treatment; and has served as least half of their sentence." (NOTE: something else I found. The below is irrelevant to this thread's topic, but is rather interesting. An article noted that a prisoner can also apply for a compassionate release to be a caregiver to a member of his family if there is no other person available to do this:
"A non-medical compassionate release (such as “family circumstances," for example), requires a showing that the primary caregiver of the prisoner’s biological or adopted child was killed or severely injured; that there is no other family member capable of caring for the child, and that offender has a clear release plan as the child’s caregiver which outlines the prisoner’s financial and housing capabilities. The same essential criterion applies in cases where the prisoner’s spouse or registered partner has suffered a serious physical injury or severe cognitive decline that requires a caregiver." Hmmm ... Didn't know that.)
An example of a cancer case (melanoma): that is, how the system works:
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/15/703784886/seriously-ill-federal-prisoners-freed-as-compassionate-release-law-takes-effectSo what about
applications involving PCa?
Frankly, I didn't find all that many cases describing instances of what happens in a PCa case, arguably a bit surprising, since most of the men applying for compassionate release would likely be older men, subject to PCa, and one might expect applications from such a group.
But here is one such case, where request for release was denied:
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/judge-denies-daniel-hersl-gttf-early-prison-release-cancer/45898571#From this article:
"The judge wrote that the court is sympathetic to Hersl's medical condition but said the Bureau of Prisons is capable of managing his medical condition and Hersl "is able to interact with his family during his period of incarceration."Another case, where release was granted, but considerable controversy about
it ensued:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/release_of_abdelbaset_al-megrahi "After he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009, having served 8½ years of a life sentence ... His death was announced on 20 May 2012. "His prolonged survival, exceeding the approximate three months suggested in August 2009, generated much controversy."One more case, where the article claims that an inmate died of PCa in prison, but the system should have done more to prevent it:
https://reason.com/2023/08/15/this-is-not-an-emergency/And a list of cases showing the variety of prisoner ailments that can be involved. A few mention PCa:
https://thefederaldocket.com/collection-of-compassionate-release-cases/When compassionate release does occur in cases involving PCa, it often seems that there is a comorbidity, such as liver disease, cardiac issues, etc., also coming into play.
But my overall reading leads me to believe that the majority of applications involving PCa get denied because:
1. No consistent statistical correlation exists between PCa and imminent death. As the case above involving the Libyan shows (and as we all know), no doctor can predict a PCa patient's longevity with any certainty, even in advanced cases. Prison officials are aware of this, and insist that since death is not "reasonably imminent," as one site put it, the inmate with PCa does not meet the requirement for likely limited lifespan.
2. The prison will maintain that its medical facilities for treating PCa are adequate. (One wonders how true this is going to be for most prison medical facilities, but the courts usually side with the prisons on this one, so I read).
3. There is still a strong feeling among much of the public that inmates, whatever their offense was, need to serve out their full sentences, regardless of age or health circumstances. For example:
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/04/should-a-dying-killer-who-murdered-a-steelton-man-in-1974-receive-a-compassionate-release-from-his-life-prison-sentence.htmlSo, regardless of whether one is for or against compassionate release, it does not appear that its use in cases of PCa is, or is going to be, all that common.
But the fact remains, undeniably, that those prisoners who were given the longest sentences to serve will with the passage of time inevitably become those who are the oldest in the system, and the ones thus most subject to a usually elderly illness such as PCa.
So it will be interesting to see how prison officials of the future deal with this situation for elderly inmates with cases of PCa: continue the current way, or try a different approach.