Parole reforms deserve Legislature’s support

As someone who served 12 years as a parole commissioner before retiring, I’m surprised that even people with experience in criminal justice misconstrue two responsible parole initiatives, the “elder parole bill” (S.15/A.3475) and another measure that would broaden the considerations for granting parole (S.1415/A.4231).

The foundation for both bills hinges on the premise that parole release be assumed unless there is documented evidence, after thorough review of the record and deliberation, that there is clear reason to doubt that — and that the reasons be articulated. That has always been the intention of the Legislature, but over time the state has seen hundreds (if not thousands) of unwarranted decisions arrived at by calculating how one can be denied, usually citing the nature of the original crime that a court dealt with years earlier.

As for the elder parole bill, years ago it was unusual for me to meet a parole candidate over the age of 50. But in more recent times, of the some 35,000 inmates in the state's correctional facilities, 19 percent have been over 50 despite the decline in the overall population. The trend reflects the parole boards’ unwillingness to release in spite of inmates having met their minimum allowable sentence.

Aging in prison settings occurs quickly and thus we have prison hospitals and infirmaries filled with long-termers languishing through the years even though their risk of reoffending is 1 percent. And the health care costs for the prisons have increased 20 percent from several years ago to approximately $380 million dollars today.

Lastly, to deny the possibility of changing behavior by warehousing people five years rather than two years between reappearance is antithetical to every research sociology project. New evidence through brain scan research has found that the brain has the ability to change and heal itself as it is subjected to new experiences, a phenomenon called neuroplasticity.

The passage of these bills will not threaten public safety. Dangerous people will still be separated from the community. It is time to stop using the incarcerated as political props.

It is time to stop using the incarcerated as political props.