Bill > H2448

This bill aims to remove barriers to medical parole in Massachusetts. It amends Section 119A of Chapter 127 in several ways: 1. It removes the requirement that a prisoner's medical condition be "so debilitating that the prisoner does not pose a public safety risk" in order to qualify for medical parole. 2. It defines a "surrogate decision-maker" as someone who can advocate on behalf of an incarcerated person, such as a next-of-kin, family member, attorney, or individual with power of attorney. 3. It requires the Department of Correction or the Sheriff to submit written petitions for medical parole on behalf of permanently cognitively incapacitated prisoners, and allows other parties to do so as well. 4. It allows prisoners, their families, or attorneys to request a medical assessment at any time to determine if the prisoner is permanently incapacitated or terminally ill. 5. It clarifies the Parole Board's role in revising, altering, or amending the terms of medical parole, and the process for revoking medical parole if a prisoner's condition improves. 6. It requires the judiciary to handle petitions for certiorari (a writ to review a lower court's decision) related to medical parole with due haste, given the urgent nature of these cases.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H2448