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.
Elderly Parole is controversial. Consider that elderly release is available to inmates convicted of unimaginable crimes, such as the inmate who, now 69 years old, was convicted in 2003 of kidnapping a 5-year-old girl, raping her, and taking sexually explicit photographs of her. He was sentenced to 350 years in state prison. The victim, now 27, is still too traumatized from the ordeal to even speak before the parole board but her sister and the district attorney plan to speak against his release when he comes before the parole board.
Or the case of a 68-year-old inmate who was sentenced to 170 years in prison for the rape of his 14-year-old niece in 1990. Before he was sentenced he told his probation officer that he would kill his niece if he was ever released. It might be presumed that when the judge sentenced him to 170 years, part of the calculation was to make sure this rapist never had the opportunity to carry out that threat. He had an elderly release parole hearing last week; he was denied early release for another five years, when he will be eligible for early release consideration again.
Many inmates have been released under elderly release programs, which have operated in California for 10 years. Over 3,000 of these so-called elderly inmates have been released since elderly parole programs began operating, including inmates who were previously convicted of murder. But according to the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, two-thirds of those who come up for elderly release are denied.
Supporters of the program note that the elderly release program reduces California’s over-populated prison system. They also note that housing and caring for elderly prisoners is a strain on the prison health care system. Supporters also argue that the inmates who are released under the program are carefully vetted by the parole board and are not individuals who are likely to reoffend. In the meantime, many victims of these crimes live with the fear that their attackers will be released.
Many are calling for reform of the elderly parole program to exclude violent sex offenders and those convicted of murder. Even many supporters of the program agree with these reforms.
Orange County criminal defense attorney William Weinberg is available for a free consultation to discuss your criminal matter. He may be contacted at his Irvine office by calling 949-474-8008 or by emailing him at bill@williamweinberg.com.