Abstract
In the last decade there has been a steady growth in the number of federally incarcerated people aging in prisons. These individuals have a long list of medical needs while they present a low risk to communities. However, this category of people tends to spend more time in prison than their younger counterparts and face difficulties in being released. Using original empirical data, as well as the existing literature, I argue that a high number of these individuals need to be released through a compassionate release mechanism. This article has two purposes. One is to show that compassionate release does not really exist in Canada. Section 121 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act — parole by exception — is the closest Canada has to release on humanitarian grounds, but it fails to fulfill this role. The second purpose is to argue that the lack of a functional compassionate release provision is unacceptable, particularly in the context of the increase among the prison population of medical conditions associated with aging. I maintain that a system which is not flexible enough to consider extreme post-incarceration circumstances of an offender, and does not allow for a modification of the place where individuals serve their sentence based on these circumstances, is disconnected from any medical, penological, humanitarian, or constitutional requirements. Finally, I provide a set of recommendations for the redrafting of section 121.
Highlights
The Canadian federal parole system is regulated by the Corrections and Conditional Release Act[2] and Regulations.[3]
The second purpose is to argue that the lack of a functional compassionate release provision is unacceptable, in the context of the increase among the prison population of medical conditions associated with aging
This legislation provides for a number of types of early release options for incarcerated people, with the purpose of contributing “to the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by means of decisions on the timing and conditions of release that will best facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens.”[4]. The most common types of early release are the day parole and the full parole
Summary
The Canadian federal parole system is regulated by the Corrections and Conditional Release Act[2] and Regulations.[3]. With better criteria for evaluating risk and rehabilitation potential, more people would be released before they would need compassionate release. People get sick, even terminally ill, before they have a chance to prove, even by the most reasonable and wellapplied criteria, that they are rehabilitated. As they get sicker, the risk they present decreases, but so does their potential to reintegrate as productive citizens. Fourth, shaped as recommendations, I will depict the steps needed to create a real compassionate release mechanism
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