California Penal Code section 3055 provides that inmates who have been incarcerated for 20 years or more and are over the age of 50 or those incarcerated for 25 years or more and are over the age of 60 are eligible for what is called “Elderly Parole.” Even violent sex offenders and child molesters are eligible. The only inmates not eligible are those who were sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Those under 60 years of age are not eligible if they are serving a sentence for a second or third strike under the three strikes law. However, after reaching the age of 60, those inmates are also eligible.
An inmate who reaches eligibility for this program is entitled to a parole hearing. Among other factors, the Board of Parole Hearings considers the early release applicant’s physical condition, mental capacity, and the inmate’s social adjustment or lack thereof while incarcerated. (California Code of Regulations, title 15, section 2449.43.)
The Elderly Parole program as it currently operates became effective on January 1, 2024; however elderly parole programs have operated in California for a decade.