State Cuts May Free Aging Inmates
Michigan DOC is considering the release of the sickest old inmates as a way to reduce the heavy cost of health care for this group.
By all accounts, Thomas Lee Ross has quietly served most of his life sentence for a violent armed robbery and kidnapping in Ann Arbor in 1974. Now – despite objections from a local judge and prosecutors – the 75-year-old inmate could be freed as part of a growing trend by the Michigan Department of Corrections to save costs by releasing prisoners. A hearing was scheduled in a Jackson prison hospital to help the Michigan parole board determine whether Ross is fit to return to society, despite his criminal history and severe dementia that has relegated him to the prison hospital for years. The hearing is the third and final hurdle Ross must clear to be considered for a commuted sentence by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said … Marlan said the department spends roughly $300 million of its annual budget on inmate health care, and more than $30 million on the 300 sickest inmates alone. Citing privacy concerns, Marlan said he could not provide details about Ross’ medical care or associated costs. But he said health concerns were the only reason Ross was being considered for release.
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