WEBVTT - Released To Die: Episode 3 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:05.480 In Uptown, New York City underdogs created a sound that 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:11.160 changed music forever. We called it Saiska, and one label 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:12.960 captured that sound like no other. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:18.279 Bonnie Rackets, I'm. 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.280 Rosy for us and this is our thing. The Birth 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:26.560 of SASA in Nueva Yorke, an original podcast from Perturo Studios. 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:34.040 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.599 When you visit Frank Ross, you never really know how 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:44.000 it's going to go till you walk through the door 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.760 of his room at the healthcare facility where he's living 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:51.680 now with dementia. Some days are good and others, well, 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:53.400 they can be really bad. 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.200 So we're getting ready to leave. Frank in the last 0:00:58.200 --> 0:00:59.800 couple of hours were rough. 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.560 That's producer Julieta Martinelli, who's been visiting the ninety three 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.840 year old man to document his efforts to die with 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:11.040 dignity outside of prison. Frank was medically transferred out of 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:15.920 prison in January under Pennsylvania's statute most commonly known as 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:17.520 compassionate Release. 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:23.880 He I guess hasn't been taken as medication and was 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:28.839 adamant that Suave not leave him. 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.080 After a day together, Frank begs Suave, his friend and 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.360 mentee to please take him home with him. He doesn't 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:40.840 want to be at the facility anymore. Suave is patient 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:45.240 and kind with Frank. He explains yet again that unfortunately 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.600 they don't have permission to leave, at least not yet. 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:53.560 But Suave loves Frank like a father, and when they leave, 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:57.840 it's clear that seeing Frank's struggle is weighing on him. 0:01:58.160 --> 0:01:59.320 And I don't know. 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.800 We were just talking about the emotional toll. 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:04.240 How do you feel? 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.880 This is what comes with taking care of somebody you 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:09.280 care for. 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:10.680 You gotta deal with it. 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:13.280 That's part of bringing him home. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.160 He don't understand, like I can't take him with me 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:17.320 even if I wanted to. 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:18.040 I can. 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.720 You know his dementia is that at early stage for 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:27.040 ninety three, where if you talk about present stuff, you 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:29.200 use it, but if you talk about. 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:30.880 His life, he's there. 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:36.720 He could remember his mother, his childhood, so he remembered 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:41.160 some things. He knows what he wanted, and he knows 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:44.639 he don't want to be here because to a certain 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.280 extent he knows like why am I here? Why is 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:48.280 that pushing me around? 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:53.080 This is not the life Frank envisioned after release, nor 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:56.120 Suave when he prayed and hoped that Frank would be 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:07.960 allowed to leave prison amidst his growing health issues. All 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:11.200 Frank wants now is to spend time with his family 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:14.480 and for the world to know this formally imprisoned writer 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:19.600 is still writing this is the reality of compassionate release 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.880 in a system that mandates waiting until the very end 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:28.400 to be free, and as challenging as it's been, it's 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:38.640 about to get even more complicated. From Futuromedia, It's Latino, Usa. 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:43.800 I'm Mariao Hossan Today. Released to Die Part three. In 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.640 this three episode mini series, we follow Frank Ross, a 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.520 ninety three year old man sentenced to die in prison, 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:55.960 and his journey to the outside through compassionate release. Frank's 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.520 case highlights one of the fastest growing trends in incarceration 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.600 in the United States, something experts call the grain of 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.600 American prisons. We're also going to take a deep dive 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:11.080 into Pennsylvania's compassionate release program, how healthcare inside prisons is 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.160 failing older people, and what it means to have a 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:23.599 chance to die free. As the months pass, Frank continues 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:27.800 to fight to make progress. He's attending physical therapy, doing 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.320 his little workouts, learning how to get in and out 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:35.040 of his wheelchair and into his bed on his own. Then, 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:40.560 in early April, another phone call changes things again. This time, 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:42.479 the news on the other end of the line is 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.320 very different from the call that alerted us to Frank's 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:50.320 impending freedom. In fact, this call is quite the opposite. 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.760 Senior producer who Martinelli picks up the story from here. 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.160 Hello, Hey, I'm recording. 0:04:59.200 --> 0:04:59.840 What's going on? 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.719 Oh man, you know Frank Ross He lost all that weight, 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.640 so they had to come and put a different ankle monitor. 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:12.000 When I met Frank, he was a large man. When 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.480 I saw him again on one of those trips, it 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.200 was shocking to see how much smaller he seemed. Saba 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.640 said he has lost more than sixty pounds since his release. 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:27.000 Most of it happened relatively recently. Not long after that visit. 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.200 Frank's ankle monitor slipped off his ankle. 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:31.960 Yeah, I remember that. 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:33.320 They were a tsue with that. 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:33.960 I colay with. 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.919 People like Frank who are released under compassionate release must 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.800 wear a GPS ankle monitor at all times. It's part 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:46.560 of the requirements. Basically a way for the Department of 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:50.080 Corrections to keep tabs on where a person is at 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:54.320 all times, even though as a senior citizen released to 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:58.760 a healthcare facility due to illness, Frank can hardly walk. 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.680 Came in to try to put a new ankle monitor 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:05.320 and he refused. 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.400 It should have been a simple thing, but on that day, 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.800 Suave says he wasn't there to help. 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:15.400 Suave says he was told. 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.520 That Frank refused to let the lieutenant from the DOC 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:22.640 put the monitor back on. He didn't seem to understand 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:27.039 what was going on. He was confused and scared. It 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:31.280 was one of those bad days. So someone called Suave, 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:37.160 hoping that hearing from him would help Frank, but instead he. 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:39.279 Cursed me out. He said, you got Swave, Bring me 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.360 the real Swave. You're an impostor. I don't know. 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:43.800 You, Suaves said. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:48.040 The officer from the DC understood that Frank was under distress. 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.839 I told the lieutenant lieutenant he was ninety three years old. 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.080 His dementia is progressing. He's that year, but I have 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.240 to write a report. That's what the lieutenant ninety three 0:06:57.240 --> 0:06:58.279 and he can't walk. 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:02.640 Not long after, the DOC filed emotion with the court, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.120 letting the judge know that Frank was refusing the inkle 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:10.120 monitor and therefore violating the agreement for release. 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:14.000 Now it goes back to the judge. So I don't 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.840 know what's going on. So I don't even know what's 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:21.320 going to happen. I will find out Monday. The doc 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.240 has to go in front of the judge. And the 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.560 dependant was real nice, you say, he said, I'm not 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:28.840 one of them people just want to force this. I'm 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.320 not going to physically put it on him because he's 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:32.320 ninety three years old. 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:36.160 No, obviously, but it feels more even more cool to 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:36.560 be like. 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.000 We have to take you back to prison. 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.320 That you can't put a monitor on him, but you 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:45.520 can haul him back to prison. But that's exactly how 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.520 the law works. Shortly after a hearing was set on 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:53.960 the court calendar, Frank was now facing prison without the 0:07:54.040 --> 0:08:05.320 cognitive ability to understand why. I arrived in Philly on 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.440 April twenty eighth, just a few days later. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.960 I am but a breath. 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:15.960 I'm trying to make my way through the Philadelphia airport. 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:22.840 We took a last minute flight at six am to 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.920 try and make it to Frank's hearing. As I run 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.720 to catch an ober to the courthouse, I wonder if 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.640 Frank has any idea how much of a risk he's 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:40.760 facing and how big of a day today is for him. 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:43.320 I make it to court just in time for his 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:47.160 case to be called. There's no recording allowed in the courtroom, 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:49.920 so I squeeze in the last row of a crowded 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:54.520 bench to witness the proceedings. One by one, the Department 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:58.360 of Corrections, Frank's lawyers, and the judge go around and 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:02.920 around arguing the issue. The doc argues that the law 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.040 is simple. He either agrees to put on a monitor 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:11.680 or he needs to go back to prison. Frank's lawyers 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.680 ask for accommodations because of his health issues. They say 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.560 that even if they can put the monitor back on, 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.440 Frank's health issues cause water retention and swelling. If his 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:27.840 ankles swell again, the monitor could injure him. If it's 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.360 to loose, it will fall off again. They ask the 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:35.120 doc to consider using a different monitor when that they 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.880 can put on his wrist or even on his wheelchair. 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:44.280 They remind the court that Frank can't walk, that patients 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.320 on the memory care floor where he resides don't have 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.680 access to an elevator, that they're under twenty four to 0:09:50.679 --> 0:10:00.280 seven care They say he's basically under lockdown already. Jave 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.640 is called to the stand. He testifies that he's Frank's caretaker, 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:08.360 about the cognitive the client that he's witnessed, and why 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:12.199 Frank suddenly no longer understands why he needs to wear 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.800 a monitor. Sabe promises that he will get Frank to 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:18.480 agree to put the monitor back on if they can 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:25.000 just have more time. Nearly an hour passes like this, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:29.520 back and forth. The Department of Corrections will not budge 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:33.400 on the monitor, and they refuse to consider putting it 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:37.800 anywhere else on his body, like around his wrist, where 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:41.240 it might be less painful or confusing for Frank. 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.520 Then the judge makes his ruling. 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.760 Outside the courthouse, I catch up to Frank's lawyers for 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:55.360 the verdict. 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.280 The judge's giving everybody a little bit more time to 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:01.800 try again put the monitor on him when he has 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.800 some trusted individuals around him. 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:08.920 That is Attorney Rupali Raschatoir. She's there with Laala Serrano 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:12.720 from the Evolutionist Law Center and PA and they have 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:17.520 represented Frank through the entire compassionate release application, and they've 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:19.160 done the same for many others. 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:20.920 They tell me the. 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:25.600 Hearing shows how these compassionate release cases, as difficult as 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:29.439 they are to win, are never really quite finished. 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:32.320 It's just unimaginably cruel. 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.319 As a result of the sickness, he's going to keep declining, 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.160 He's going to have pognitive decline and because of that 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.199 can't understand some of the conditions that comply with them. 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:43.280 Everybody knows he's not going anywhere. 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.800 It's not a flight risk, he's not a danger, and 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:48.560 even so the department's still moving to try to send 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:49.240 him back to prison. 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:53.000 The judge has given them six days to get Frank 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:56.840 to put the monitor back on next Monday, the doc 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.280 will return to see Frank. If he refused, says, well, 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:04.880 that could be it for today. Though it's a win. 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:10.280 Frank remains free, but hepal says Frank's case is representative 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:14.160 of a broader issue, the cruelty that permeates the way 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:19.040 the compassionate release statute is handled in the state. Here 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:20.440 is Lolo Serrano. 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:26.840 Just the eligibility criteria are exceptionally cruel, like the death 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:28.080 date that you have to have. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:29.000 You have to have a. 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.720 Terminal diagnosis, essentially a doctor telling you have less than 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.280 one you're to live and then this statutory restriction we're 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.840 dealing with today is this under electronic monitoring. So not 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.240 only do you have to be so exceptionally ill, and 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:46.600 then after that you're subject to scrutiny and instability when 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.160 you're trying to live out your final days in peace. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.760 The reality of the situation is that if Frank is 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:57.400 too sick to understand that he needs to wear an 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.679 ankle monitor, he will be sent back to prison, despite 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:06.520 that same illness being the actual reason for his release 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:10.840 in the first place. It really doesn't make much sense. 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:15.280 It's one of the issues with how the Compassionate Relief 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.240 Statute is written. It leaves no wiggle room for the 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:22.480 reality of dealing with a person who is ill. 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.640 When we come back, we continue following Frank's fight to 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.040 remain free, and we take a look at a potential 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:34.280 new law aimed at overhauling the entire compassionate release system 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:35.480 in Pennsylvania. 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:55.719 Stay with us, Yes, What's Up? Friends, and Welcome to I. E. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.520 And Friends, the podcast where we give relationship advice, talk 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.679 Latino pop culture, and keep you entertained with laughs with. 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.720 Your hosts el Go Mis, Caesar Sotello and Aaron Carvel, 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:07.599 where we bring you a unique blend of humor, relatability, 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:08.800 and cultural insights. 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:10.480 Whether you're single, in. 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:12.559 Relationship, or somewhere between, join us. 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:14.320 For a heart to heart chat about loving life. 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:16.880 I Ean Friends, the podcast that's like chilling with your 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:19.880 best amigos. I e A Friends, is available wherever you 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:21.040 listen to podcasts. 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.400 Hey, we're back. Before the break, we followed Frank's lawyers 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.800 into court as they fought the Department of Corrections demand 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:38.680 that he go back to prison because he was unwilling 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:42.200 to put on an ankle monitor. Now, Senior producer Juliata 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.800 Martinetti continues with the story, I think. 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:54.400 So so I was going to ask after. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.360 Court, Suave and I rush over to see Frank. Suave 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.960 is eager to explain a Frank that the men will 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.680 be back and he will need to let them put 0:14:59.720 --> 0:14:59.920 them on. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:00.960 Or back on. 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:08.040 I walk in and hug Frank. Swave hangs back, but 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:11.200 I can tell that Frank knows exactly who I am today. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.720 It's a good day. His eyes light up as I 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:20.280 agreet him. Swaby walks up behind his wheelchair and hugs 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:21.120 him tight. 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:22.840 Hug. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.560 Frank smiles wide. He knows that Swab is there to 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:29.360 see him. 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.640 Hi, Frank, how you doing? 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:38.720 You know who's hugging you? This crazy guy behind you? 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:39.760 How you doing today? 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:44.440 I got better just to come here. 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.600 Swab doesn't waste any time. Frank is sitting in his 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.840 wheelchair in front of the TV. The box that he 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.240 brought from prison filled with his writing is open next 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.600 to his bed. Swabi pulls up a chair and sits 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.400 down in front of him, because. 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.480 I came to talk to you. We just came from court. 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:08.080 We just came from the judge. 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:13.520 Okay, all right, So why do I talk to you? 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:13.840 Come on? 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:17.880 The DC is trying to take you back to prison. 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:20.280 No, it's not. 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:27.400 Good because if you go back, you're never coming out again. 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:29.160 It's not good. 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:33.720 The conversation goes in circles for nearly an hour. Frank 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:37.800 doesn't understand why he risks going back to prison. Souave 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:41.680 is patient. He explains the same thing in different ways. 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:42.680 Many times. 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:48.800 We managed to convince the judge that there was no 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:50.560 necessary to take you back to prison. 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:52.520 I'm being honest with you. 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:55.120 I don't want you to go back to prison. 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:55.920 Right. 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:01.000 Frank is confused. I can see the fear in Suave's eyes, 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.320 how much is writing on him, convincing Frank that he 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.320 needs to get the monitor back on to try and 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:11.320 keep him focused on the real issue without scaring or 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:23.280 frustrating him. Situations like this are exactly why lawyers, activists, 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.760 and some legislators in Pennsylvania have been pushing for a 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.720 complete revamp of the compassionate release law. 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:31.200 Over the last year. 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:36.440 They've made considerable progress through a state bill called HB 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:37.480 one fifty. 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:43.119 HB one, which was introduced by state Representative Kujuski and 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:47.359 former state Representative Torren Ecker, seeks to expand access to 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:51.320 medical release for chronically and terminally ill incarcerated people. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:56.040 That's the less Trustee. She's a long time reform advocate, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.399 speaking at a press conference announcing that the bill had 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.560 passed a House with bipartisan support last December. She worked 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:08.880 alongside a number of organizations, including Frank's own lawyers, politicians, 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.359 and local advocates to help drum up support for the bill. 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:18.760 HB one fifty is an extremely necessary piece of legislation 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.679 that we have been trying to move for so long. 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:27.000 But Celeste midst that by the time HB one fifty 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:30.840 past the House. The bills didn't look quite as they imagined. 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.440 There have been a number of different versions of this 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:43.080 bill in previous sessions that actually had broader language that 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:49.240 looked at including age and medical need. The legislature didn't 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:53.120 seem interested in taking a look at finding relief based on. 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.200 Whether you were old or whether you were sick. 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.560 And so the strategy was to narrow the bill language 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:03.679 to us to have medical criteria included. 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:08.760 The current bill doesn't include advanced age as reason enough 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:12.399 to consider compassionate release, but it does open up the 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:17.000 requirements related to illness. It would expand to consider people 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:21.639 who are seriously ill but not yet considered terminal, people 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:25.600 that could be better cared for on the outside sooner 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:29.600 without having a wait to have a so called death date. 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:31.639 Here's Celeste Trustee. 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:35.399 Again, prisons were not meant to be nursing homes, but 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:36.879 that's what it has become. 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:37.280 Right. 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:42.240 Our prisons have ended up becoming something where you walk 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:46.200 in and you see people in wheelchairs who have complete 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:49.199 mobility issues. You see people in walkers, You see people 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:53.560 who are unable to care for themselves. You see people 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.960 who do not even understand why they are there. 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.720 Celes says the state representatives. We're able to gather bipartisan 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:05.639 support because the bill makes sense. It could save the 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:09.760 prison system as much as nineteen million dollars in healthcare 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:14.440 costs every year. All of this is funded by taxpayers. 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:19.240 It's like over forty million dollars a year that Pennsylvania 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:23.200 is spending on medical care for these folks, right and 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:28.960 as a system that has the third largist impact on 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:32.719 the Commonwealth's budget, it blows my mind. 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:37.400 Now that the bill has passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:39.960 it needs to be taken up by the Senate to 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.639 become law. Her hope is that HB one p. Fifty 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:48.880 will pass us currently written allowing incarcerated people to petition 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:52.840 for medical release when they have any medical condition deemed 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:58.240 quote chronic and abilitating. Basically, people that can't take care 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:02.479 of themselves shouldn't be in prison. These amendments would have 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:07.000 potentially allowed Frank to be released much sooner. If the 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.560 bill passes the Senate, they estimate that as many as 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:16.479 seven hundred incarcerated people could immediately become eligible for compassionate release. 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:21.439 But Celeste says, six months after the bill passed the House, 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.560 the Pennsylvania Senate still has made no move to take 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:26.840 this up for a vote. 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:31.720 We are absolutely at a point where if we don't 0:21:31.760 --> 0:21:38.480 do something soon, we cannot afford to continue it. When 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:42.680 you remove a person from society during incarceration, that is 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:47.080 supposed to be the punishment, removal from society. The punishment 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:50.240 is not lack of medical care. 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:56.160 Celie says she's trying to remain hopeful. The Senate has 0:21:56.240 --> 0:22:00.040 until November to make a move. If they don't, the 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:03.320 whole process would need to start over again. 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:07.800 It is always frustrating when you make such headway like 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:10.520 we did with HB one fifty and then things stall. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.239 The reality of legislative and policy work, though, is that 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:18.800 that does happen sometimes, right, But we will not let up. 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:42.400 We'll be right back. We're back. 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:45.280 Senior producer The Martinelli picks up this story now. 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:47.439 While there is. 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:50.480 Hope that the policy will make things more humane for 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:54.679 other elders in Pennsylvania in the coming years, the reality 0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:58.080 is that Frank's fate continues to rest on the current 0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:02.359 law as written. Back in his room, after a few 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:05.760 hours of talking, Suave makes some headway. 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:07.880 Listen to what I'm saying. 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:09.159 I love you. 0:23:09.680 --> 0:23:10.960 I know it to death. 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:14.159 I know it thous apart, I know I respect you. 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:16.440 I know I will always will. 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:21.320 I know all that. Right, do you care about me? 0:23:22.080 --> 0:23:22.760 I love you? 0:23:23.000 --> 0:23:27.560 You're bum I'm read it again. I love you my son. 0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:29.320 Okay man, that's right. 0:23:29.920 --> 0:23:33.760 Frank finally tells Suave what is stressing him so much. 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:37.440 He says he can't stand being inside this room all 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:41.440 the time anymore. It's not much different being locked inside 0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:45.359 this building as it was being in prison. He wants 0:23:45.400 --> 0:23:50.119 to visit his family to feel the breeze. Taking Frank 0:23:50.240 --> 0:23:54.080 out of this building is possible, but it requires approval 0:23:54.119 --> 0:23:58.400 from the Department of Corrections. So Suave makes a promise. 0:23:59.200 --> 0:23:59.680 Listen to that. 0:24:00.080 --> 0:24:03.000 You look every pop and we could go out, but 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:09.640 we just need the transportation, right. I'm willing to do that, right, 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:13.119 But they're not going to let you go until we 0:24:13.160 --> 0:24:15.600 get to this issue, which is. 0:24:16.040 --> 0:24:20.600 They want an ankle monitor, all monitor, right, and then 0:24:20.840 --> 0:24:23.879 we could take you out anyway, went out. 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:24.359 All right? 0:24:24.480 --> 0:24:25.119 Can you do that? 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:30.879 In the end, Frank agrees to do his best to 0:24:31.000 --> 0:24:33.439 remember that he needs to put the monitor back on 0:24:33.640 --> 0:24:36.720 next Monday. They made plans for Suave to spend the 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:40.600 night with him the Sunday prior, he promises he won't 0:24:40.680 --> 0:24:47.520 let him forget why they're here. Later in the afternoon, 0:24:47.720 --> 0:24:50.320 Swave makes a list of the items that Frank was 0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:53.679 like from the grocery store across the street. It's a 0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:59.400 good distraction talking about his favorite snacks. Before we head 0:24:59.440 --> 0:25:02.760 out to buy that items, we guide Frank's wheelchair to 0:25:02.840 --> 0:25:06.719 the community room where other patients are eating lunch and 0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:13.480 listening to a volunteer play music. But before we go 0:25:13.520 --> 0:25:17.560 into the room, Frank signals us to come closer. He 0:25:17.640 --> 0:25:19.000 wants to tell us something. 0:25:19.840 --> 0:25:20.600 Who is him? 0:25:22.400 --> 0:25:25.320 I'm ninety three years old. 0:25:26.600 --> 0:25:27.480 I really to. 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:31.680