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Skip to contentSkip to site index Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation SEARCH SUBSCRIBE FOR $1/WEEKLog in Sunday, March 3, 2024 Today’s Paper SUBSCRIBE FOR $1/WEEK Opinion|Living Slow Deaths Behind Bars https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/opinion/new-york-parole-reform.html * Share full article * * * 2 Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Opinion Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Guest Essay LIVING SLOW DEATHS BEHIND BARS March 3, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET Credit...Hoi Chan * Share full article * * * 2 * Read in app By Barbara Hanson Treen Ms. Treen served as a New York State parole commissioner from 1984 to 1996 and is the author of “Geranium Justice: The Other Side of the Table.” Scientists have found that most cells in our bodies regenerate every seven to 10 years on average. This includes certain cells in the heart and brain. Can we assume, then, that our moral and emotional compasses are also capable of transforming over time? As a New York State parole commissioner for 12 years, I evaluated the readiness for release and risk to public safety of more than 75,000 incarcerated people. I saw these changes in people every day. Yet in spite of those transformations, the number of aging long-termers warehoused in prisons has only increased in recent years. Two bills in the New York State Legislature could challenge that trend. Both would give people in prison fairer shots at parole. Versions of this legislation have been introduced since 2018 but were never put to a vote. This year, lawmakers should pass them. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Many long-termers languish in cells or in substandard prison infirmaries, or even in so-called long-term care units. With labored breathing, they limp to the mess hall and miss their chance to eat, sink deeper into dementia, fall and get seriously injured, and navigate hearing and vision impairment. At the same time, they are under the supervision of guards who lack the training and often the empathy to properly manage the diminished capacity of many older people to follow often senseless prison rules. Sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter Get expert analysis of the news and a guide to the big ideas shaping the world every weekday morning. Get it sent to your inbox. When I was a commissioner, from 1984 to 1996, it was unusual for me to meet a parole candidate over the age of 50. Now there are more than 7,500 incarcerated people ages 50 and older in New York, or about 25 percent of the entire state prison population. In fact, between 2008 and 2021, the overall prison population declined by half, yet the population age 50 and older increased, with ballooning health care costs crowding out other budget priorities. The state spends between $100,000 and $240,000 on incarcerated people who are 55 or older, according to one of the reform measures before the State Legislature; for others, the figure is about $60,000. Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. Read 2 Comments * Share full article * * * 2 * Read in app Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT COMMENTS 2 Living Slow Deaths Behind BarsSkip to Comments Share your thoughts. The Times needs your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, criticism and expertise. Comments are moderated for civility. SITE INDEX SITE INFORMATION NAVIGATION * © 2024 The New York Times Company * NYTCo * Contact Us * Accessibility * Work with us * Advertise * T Brand Studio * Your Ad Choices * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Terms of Sale * Site Map * Canada * International * Help * Subscriptions Our best offer won’t last: $1 a week for your first year. See details -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Times. See subscription options