People argue that dying inmates should have the chance to be released. Some say it costs the state too much to care for terminally ill inmates. My guess is, if these people are released, they won’t have any resources, so it is likely the state will still foot the bill for care, minus the cost of guards, etc.
Some say it will be nice for families to have their loved one back before the end. Maybe so, maybe not. Perhaps families will be burdened with a relative with whom they have had no meaningful connection. The situations vary case by case, obviously.
For me, it comes down to the crime. Society has never feared terminally ill, bed-bound people. Recidivism, or the impossibility of reoffending is not the issue. People who have committed heinous acts were meant to die in prison, away from family. That would be the point of, say, a 150-year sentence. Too many people are imprisoned for foolishness.
I am all for compassion, unless the sentence was imposed for the express purpose of not extending any.
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