Criminal justice reform is about fairness — and can end up saving significant taxpayer dollars. Missouri lawmakers are beginning to recognize flaws in outdated sentencing laws and are taking steps to fix them. Rep. Tom Hannegan, R-St. Charles, sponsored , which would allow parole applications for Missouri prisoners age 65 and older who have served at least 30 years of a sentence imposed under an old law that has since been revised.
This worthy bill awaits Senate approval after bipartisan House passage on Thursday. It excludes sex offenders and prisoners convicted of a violent felony before the crime for which they are currently imprisoned.
The parole board would determine if there is a reasonable probability the person wouldn’t reoffend if released. Eligible prisoners would provide integration plans, demonstrate rehabilitation efforts and undergo mental health and risk assessments.
People are also reading…
Until the statute was changed in the 1980s, juries were allowed to recommend life without the possibility of parole for a minimum of 50 years. In the ’80s, the minimum was changed to 30 years. The effect was that people sentenced before the statute was revised would serve significantly longer sentences than those convicted of the exact same crime after it became effective.
“Some people committed much worse crimes and are eligible after 30 years,†Hannegan said.
The incongruity affects women like Patty Prewitt, a 69-year-old grandmother who has served nearly 33 years in prison for murdering her husband. We have argued her case for clemency, citing a prosecution riddled with problems. Even her jailer, the former head of the Department of Corrections, has called for her release. Prewitt would have a chance for parole under this new bill.
The elderly prison population has low recidivism rates. These prisoners present a financial burden to the prison’s health care system. Approximately 1,000 prisoners are over age 65 and have served more than 30 years in Missouri prisons. It’s unknown how many would be eligible under HB 352 and how many would be granted parole. If even a fraction are, the state stands to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The bill requires that anyone granted parole under this measure receives a minimum of five years of supervision.
House Democrats overwhelmingly opposed this bill. Some legislators expressed concern for the victims and their families who believed at the time of sentencing that the convicted person would serve a minimum of 50 years. Fulfilling a sentence that isn’t applied fairly and uniformly doesn’t advance the cause of justice. And a jury’s recommended sentence always can be amended by a judge or overturned on appeal.
Missouri changed the older sentencing statute for a reason. Besides, in the 1970s and ’80s, women often received unequal sentences to men for similar crimes. This is a chance to correct some of the mistakes from the past.