[black and white cartoon drawing of a prison yard. Anthropomorphic foxes dressed as prison guards stand atop a brick wall. Directly below the brick wall is the text: OUT OF BOUNDS. In the tiny yard below the foxes are anthropomorphic chickens dressed as prisoners. They're showing signs of physical disabilities, either using a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair. Two foxes are standing over what appears to the remains of a dead chicken. Attached to a tower is a banner that says: HIGH RISK | ELDERLY | NO WARNING SHOTS.]

The Fox assures us "ALL CHICKENS ARE DANGEROUS!"
JUSTIFIED SENICIDE

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THE DARK SIDE OF HUMAN NATURE

In a 40 sq ft prison cell/pod with one toilet packed with eight prisoners like human sardines, during the night of 17 October 2024, the soul of prisoner Richard [redacted] was liberated from California's synthetic hell after 38 years of incarceration. There is more to Richard's death than a prison died in the night.

Richard, 61 years old, was an ADA/elderly prisoner, double leg amputee, heart attack survivor, with chronic diabetes and confined to a wheelchair. All of these conditions have rendered him harmless.[6] Through all of his years of incarceration, Richard's family was supportive, maintaining a loving home where he could have been paroled.[6] Yet he was denied elderly parole twice.[1]

Richard, like so many other harmless elderly prisoners, did not have to die in prison or wait to die in prison. Old benign prisoners in their 70's, 80's, and 90's are denied elderly parole with denial rates of 82%.[1][2][3]

Can the Fox be right assuring us, "All chickens are dangerous," or is there another explanation?

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has a bloated annual budget of $14 billion dollars.[4] Twenty percent (20%) of the prison population[3] are elderly prisoners, which are the most costly to house at an average cost of $282,000 per elderly prisoner[5], or about $2 billion dollars a year.[3]

Surely, our guardians of the public trust wouldn't punish old men to death by impetus of economics?

[1] California Parole Board
[2] Prison Policy Initiative
[3] CDCR Offender Data Points
[4] California Department of Finance
[5] Legislative Analyst Office
[6] Elderly/Compassion Parole Conditions

22 October 2024
Robert H. Outman
Prisoner P-79939

http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/895