This bill would create a system of medical and geriatric reprieve to support safe, evidence-based pathways to release for the elderly and those with terminal, costly, life-hampering, and/or life-threatening medical conditions. It would also increase government transparency and efficacy around “offender progress reports” by providing people who are incarcerated with a chance to identify errors before release and by ensuring relevant supervising agencies have access to the reports, allowing individuals to build on progress made behind bars.
While the national state imprisonment rate dropped eight percent between 2000 and 2016, Indiana’s imprisonment rate grew 18 percent. Jail overcrowding inherently leads to conditions that the Supreme Court has found unconstitutional, as well as serious health and safety concerns. We support legislation that aims to reduce overreliance on the mass incarceration system.
