FAMM is working in Oregon to advance legislation to create a new compassionate release mechanism to ensure severely ill and dying incarcerated Oregonians have a meaningful opportunity for release.
Oregon’s 2023 legislative session runs from January 17 to June 26.
Questions? Contact Daniel Landsman, FAMM’s Deputy Director of Policy, at dlandsman@famm.org for more information.
2023 Legislative Priorities
SB 520 would create a new mechanism for compassionate release. Under this new mechanism applicants would be reviewed by an independent advisory committee compiled of licensed medical professionals. If an applicant receives a positive recommendation, they will go before either the Board of Parole or the Courts where there will be a rebuttable presumption of release that the Board or court may overcome with a finding that the individual poses a danger to the safety of another person or the public. Eligible criterion include: a terminal illness with a prognosis of 12 months or less to live; inability to complete the activities of daily living or inability to independently move from place to place even with the use of a mobility device; an underlying condition that places the individual at an increased risk of serious medical complications or death if exposed to a disease during a declared state of emergency or public health emergency (such as the COVID-19 pandemic); or, has a progressively debilitating condition.
Read FAMM’s poll showing that 70% of Americans support compassionate release