New FAMM report: “Grading the States: The State Compassionate Release Report Card Project”

As detailed in this press release, the folks at FAMM have today released a lot of new materials and resources focused on how states approach compassionate release for state prisoners.  Here are details from the press release:

Today, FAMM has released a compassionate release report, including report cards for every state, grading compassionate release programs designed for incarcerated people struggling with certain extraordinary circumstances, such as a terminal or age-related illness.

“It was not surprising, but still disheartening to see so little improvement in compassionate release across the country since we first examined state compassionate release in 2018,” said Mary Price, FAMM’s general counsel and author of the report. “Lawmakers across the country fund compassionate release programs that sit idle and leave people to die in prison – including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There comes a point in a person’s sentence where they are so sick that incarceration loses any meaning or worse, becomes torture. If the programs are broken and can’t be used effectively, the lawmakers should fix them.”

In concert with the report, FAMM today also released a new national poll which found that 70% of Americans, across political lines, support compassionate release programs.

“At a time of concern about rising rates of crime, why are so many states wasting their limited resources to incarcerate sick and elderly people?” said Kevin Ring, FAMM’s president. “Committing to compassionate release programs could allow for funds to be better used to address concerns about crime.”

FAMM graded the compassionate release programs for each state in several categories before assigning a letter grade. The map of results is below.

The report is an update to “Everywhere and Nowhere: Compassionate Release in the States,” a comprehensive, state-by-state report on the early-release programs. That report was released in 2018.