DEBRA CUPP, 60, stood in front of the U.S.
Capitol on a hot day in July holding a
handmade sign: “Ron Cupp died waiting
on compassionate release, Jan. 3, 2017.”
Her husband Ron had complained sev-
eral times to prison doctors about pain in
his gut. Each time, he was sent back to his
cell with aspirin. When authorities finally
examined him more closely, they discov-
ered he had metastatic colon cancer.
Because he was too weak to make it to
the prison visiting room, Debra didn’t get
to see her husband during the last three
months of his life. She found out he’d died
because the prison chaplain took it upon
himself to call her. The Bureau of Prisons
would not officially notify her of her hus-
band’s death for another two weeks. By
that time, his ashes had already arrived in
the mail.
In Washington, Cupp joined other
people whose incarcerated loved ones had
suffered while waiting for the government
to determine if they were eligible for “com-
passionate release.” That policy, which
allows elderly and terminally ill inmates
to go home ahead of schedule, is sup-
posed to afford people the small mercy of
finishing their lives among family and in
relative peace. But the petition process, as
described by family members, is arbitrary,
inscrutable, and cruel.
Since 2014, at least 81 federal inmates
died while waiting for the government
to review their applications, according
to Justice Department records obtained
earlier this year by the criminal justice
reform advocacy group FAMM. And while
49 states have provisions for compassion-
ate release, a June report by FAMM found
that very few elderly and sick prisoners
actually benefit. In states such as New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Kansas, the
number of inmates granted compassion-
ate release can be counted on one hand.
Thirteen states do not keep records on theprocess, making it impossible to say how
or whether it’s used at all.
“It’s cruel and wasteful to continue to
incarcerate people who no longer pose a
threat to our society,” Mary Price, general
counsel at FAMM, said in a statement.
The prison population in most states
is rapidly aging, as inmates sentenced to
decades behind bars during the tough-on-
crime ’80s and ’90s now enter their golden
years. The long-term health effects of
incarceration can be devastating, mean-
ing that many of them will need expensive
and individualized care that American
prisons are not equipped to provide.
Rather than training prison guards to
do hospice work, Americans should ask
policy makers to do a better job balancing
justice and mercy.C.J. CIARAMELLA is a reporter at Reason.Photo: Ron Levine REASON 15
CIVIL LIBERTIES
GRANDPARENTS
IN THE GULAG
C.J. CIARAMELLA