Write your Senator, Write members of Congress.
It seems that we as a society could do a better job when it comes to elder care and abuse.
When you hear a story of someone in a nursing home being neglected or not receiving proper care
it sets off alarms. There are different rules and exceptions made when someone is elderly and
rightfully so. Being in your “golden years” should be a time to enjoy the fruits of your life and your
family. We focus and implement retirement planning for our entire career and it seems we spend years
and years thinking and planning for when we are older. We set up senior centers in our towns and have programs like Meals on wheels that serve our senior citizens. However, there is a forgotten group of elderly people that have been subject to over reach and unjust detention which is a form of elder abuse. That is the incarcerated senior citizen. Being in this camp has been an eye opening experience to say the least. There are many people here that have served their time and paid their debt to society but are being held for no justifiable reason. One example is Red, a 75 year old man who has been in the system for over 9 years. He is at minimum risk for reoffending and is a non violent offender. He has never received not even so much as a single disciplinary infraction and carries himself like a true gentleman. Red has never seen his great grandchildren. If you meet him he will remind you of Morgan Freedman by his looks and wisdom. The crazy part is he has over 700 days of time credits that the system for whatever reason has failed to apply. He should have been released to home detention over two years ago based on the First Step Act of 2018 and the Second Chance Act of 2007. The recently expired Elderly offender home detention program would have sent him home over even earlier.
The Elderly Offender Home Detention Program, originally authorized under the First Step Act of 2018, expired in 2023, and it has not been reauthorized by Congress as of now. This program allowed nonviolent elderly prisoners to serve the remaining portion of their sentences at home, which has helped reduce prison costs and accommodated the needs of older justice impacted people. Despite its success, the programs future is uncertain due to a lack of legislative action and reauthorization seems unlikely in the immediate future. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have been particularly prominent in supporting legislation aimed at expanding and improving the program. Many other Senators and members of Congress seem willing and able to support this Bipartisan law.
The good news is Red will be going home next month. The bad news is he still has not received the time credits due and a few extra years of his life were stolen, unnecessarily, and in violation of the law namely the First Step Act of 2018. There are others here that would be home now if Elderly Offender programs are reinstituted and if the individual facilities followed the law which many do not.
If you are reading this please take the time to write or email your Senator, tell them the story of Red and ask them to support reinstating the Elderly Offender Home Detention Program.
