danielle
08-07-2003, 10:54 PM
Budget May Cause Ill Inmates' Release
In 2002, the state spent more than $100 million in tax revenue to treat sick inmates.
Reported By: Jerry Carnes
Web Editor: Manav Tanneeru
Last Modified: 8/7/2003 7:49:52 PM
Budget problems for the state of Georgia may lead to more criminals being released from prison early.
In 2002, the state spent more than $100 million in tax revenue to treat sick inmates. The Department of Corrections is now trying to decide which inmates are too sick to keep behind bars and if it would be worth the savings to release them.
Anthony Parker, who is serving a life sentence for an aggravated sodomy conviction, is currently in the August State Medical Prison for an arthritic knee and a potentially fatal heart disease. The treatment costs more than $250,000.
Parker’s treatment is not the most expensive among Georgia inmates. There are some with yearly medical bills that total up to $450,000.
The total medical bill for Georgia inmates last year was $117 million. It is expected to rise to a cost of $175 million by 2007.
With an ever tightening state budget, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is taking a closer look at chronically sick inmates to see if any of them can be released.
It's been done before. Right now, there are 49 law-breakers who were freed from prison early after getting medical reprieves.
Among them is 87-year-old Robert Spearman, who was convicted of murder in 1993 and sentenced to life. He was released last year when the parole board determined he was so sick there was little chance he would be a danger.
The parole board insisted that would be the case with anyone they grant a medical reprieve.
“They usually can't get out of bed. In many cases they die right after they leave the prison system and the families prefer them to come home to die,” said Heather Headrick of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Parole board members plan to visit some of the sickest and most expensive inmates to help determine if they can be released without posing a danger.
So far, the board has refused to release Parker.
In 2002, the state spent more than $100 million in tax revenue to treat sick inmates.
Reported By: Jerry Carnes
Web Editor: Manav Tanneeru
Last Modified: 8/7/2003 7:49:52 PM
Budget problems for the state of Georgia may lead to more criminals being released from prison early.
In 2002, the state spent more than $100 million in tax revenue to treat sick inmates. The Department of Corrections is now trying to decide which inmates are too sick to keep behind bars and if it would be worth the savings to release them.
Anthony Parker, who is serving a life sentence for an aggravated sodomy conviction, is currently in the August State Medical Prison for an arthritic knee and a potentially fatal heart disease. The treatment costs more than $250,000.
Parker’s treatment is not the most expensive among Georgia inmates. There are some with yearly medical bills that total up to $450,000.
The total medical bill for Georgia inmates last year was $117 million. It is expected to rise to a cost of $175 million by 2007.
With an ever tightening state budget, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is taking a closer look at chronically sick inmates to see if any of them can be released.
It's been done before. Right now, there are 49 law-breakers who were freed from prison early after getting medical reprieves.
Among them is 87-year-old Robert Spearman, who was convicted of murder in 1993 and sentenced to life. He was released last year when the parole board determined he was so sick there was little chance he would be a danger.
The parole board insisted that would be the case with anyone they grant a medical reprieve.
“They usually can't get out of bed. In many cases they die right after they leave the prison system and the families prefer them to come home to die,” said Heather Headrick of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Parole board members plan to visit some of the sickest and most expensive inmates to help determine if they can be released without posing a danger.
So far, the board has refused to release Parker.