Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed into law bills that will allow some seriously ill and elderly inmates to be paroled and placed in hospitals or nursing homes. As Tracy Samilton reports, the law could save the state money and be more humane for offenders at the end of their lives.
Chris Gautz is a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He says there's a big population of elderly, medically frail people due to long sentences imposed in the "tough on crime" 70s.
"and they have the same type of diseases that people on the outside have and we have to care for them."
Once paroled, federal insurance programs will pay for their care rather than state taxpayer dollars. Gautz says only a few inmates will qualify at first, but the law could expand later once it's proved public safety isn't threatened.