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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Daylin Leach |
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House approves Leach amendment strengthening prison medical release law
HARRISBURG, April 3 – As the House began discussions Wednesday on one of the bills in a prison reform package, state Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, successfully added an amendment that would ensure greater public safety and strengthen the process by which inmates are released for outside medical treatment.
The language was inserted into H.B. 7, which is part of a package of legislation designed to improve public safety, reduce repeat offenses and save money.
"As the lifer population continues to balloon in Pennsylvania, more of those aging inmates are going to need access to medical treatment beyond prison walls," Leach said. "The current process by which inmates are treated is not as lucid as it should be, and that could lead to mistakes and prisoners slipping through the cracks. My measure would provide humane treatment to all inmates who need outside medical services, but protect the public and most importantly, any victim of the inmate."
Under Leach’s proposal, district attorneys and registered crime victims would be notified and provided an opportunity to make a statement to the court prior to any inmate medical release. It would also stipulate that patients and staff likely to come into contact with the inmate be notified once the court orders an inmate medical release.
It would clarify language authorizing the court to punish any inmate who attempts to escape while on medical release, and grant the court clear authority to recommit any inmate to prison if a change in circumstances occurs, including voluntary removal from any release placement.
The package of legislation is supported by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania County Prison Warden’s Association, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association, the Department of Corrections, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
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