Victoria Law has written yet another compelling piece on the many negative aspects of mass incarceration. Aging, Sick and Incarcerated: The Need for Compassionate Release
The CAN-DO Foundation provided Truthout with a few cases of women who are seeking a compassionate release, knowing the odds are greatly stacked against them, despite a scathing report by the Inspector General that criticize the lack of compassionate releases being granted by the Bureau of Prisons, (BOP) and former Attorney General Eric Holder’s stance that the BOP should increase the number of compassionate releases. Still, for reasons we must examine, prisoners who apply and meet all the criteria for a compassionate release are routinely denied.
Through communications with Mary Ziman, CAN-DO learned that her compassionate release was denied without being given proper consideration, according to the BOP policy statement. As a result, Victoria Law did a follow up story which we hope will shed a light on why compassionate releases are being denied even when the applicant meets all the requirements.