Session: 2023-2024
ACLU-PA Position: Supports
HB 587 (PN 2080) would permit incarcerated individuals to petition for early release on parole due to age, illness, or medical reasons during a public health emergency. Specifically, HB 587 would:
- Repeal provisions related to the transfer of people for medical treatment and instead allow the PA Board of Probation and Parole to grant parole to individuals with terminal illnesses, chronic debilitating conditions, or serious functional or cognitive impairments;
- Enable the Board to grant expedited medical parole during a public health emergency to vulnerable individuals at risk of serious illness or death; and
- Require the Department of Corrections to notify and assist inmates and their families with the parole petition process.
With the abundance of effective life sentences imposed by Pennsylvania’s courts, many people face age-related mental and physical deterioration while in the custody of the Department of Corrections. PA’s current compassionate release mechanisms are so narrow as to be impractical in almost every case.
HB 587 takes a more compassionate and reality-based approach to the conditions in which someone should be eligible for early release. It would also allow extended family members greater access to visits and would provide an incarcerated person's family and legal counsel easier access to their medical records. Humanizing this system to allow for expanded compassionate release would shift limited corrections resources to where they are most needed.
Check the bill's status here.
