WHEREAS, a core principle of Delaware’s criminal justice and corrections system should be efficiently ensuring public safety; and
WHEREAS, a second core principle of Delaware’s criminal justice and corrections system should be to account for an incarcerated person’s unique individual circumstances; and
WHEREAS, the federal system and most states’ systems provide some form of early release for incarcerated people, such as in the case of terminal illness, advanced age, severe illness, or other incapacitation; and
WHEREAS, such form of release often is referred to as “compassionate release”; and
WHEREAS, the compassionate release of incarcerated people can promote individual and community-wide justice while preserving public safety and realizing fiscal efficiencies; and
WHEREAS, by statute, Delaware’s system provides the possibility of early release via sentence modification for serious medical illness or infirmity among incarcerated people who committed crimes on or after June 30, 1990, and early release via medical parole for limited medical reasons among incarcerated people who committed crimes prior to June 30, 1990; and
WHEREAS, old age and associated infirmity are not strict bases for early release under Delaware’s statutory system, regardless of how many years an incarcerated person has been incarcerated, how well that person has behaved and rehabilitated while incarcerated, and whether the incarcerated person would pose no threat to individuals or the community upon early release; and
WHEREAS, in addition to a limited statutory framework for early release, Delaware has a constitutional framework whereby an incarcerated person can submit an application for a commutation to the Board of Pardons; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Pardons, which is comprised of the Chancellor of the Court of Chancery, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, and the Auditor of Accounts, can recommend commutations to the Governor, who has the sole authority to grant commutations; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the statutory avenues for early release and constitutional framework for commutations, as of 2021 there were nearly 200 Delawareans over the age of 50 who had been incarcerated for more than 30 years, including approximately 130 over the age of 60; and
WHEREAS, these older incarcerated individuals are disproportionately Black; and
WHEREAS, a detailed review of, and enhanced focus on, these incarcerated individuals’ personal backgrounds and present circumstances, including their demonstrated efforts to maximize participation in educational and other rehabilitative opportunities while incarcerated, would reveal opportunities to seek early release or commutation while preserving public safety and achieving fiscal efficiencies; and
WHEREAS, following a detailed review and enhanced focus, there may be an increase in meritorious and compelling applications for commutation to the Board of Pardons or for early release pursuant to statute; and
WHEREAS, Delaware’s statutory system for early release may merit changes that expand the bases for early release without posing a risk to public safety, including on the basis of a comparative analysis of other states’ systems and outcomes under models of compassionate release.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 152nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that there is merit, on individual and community-wide bases, to immediately consider early release for all statutorily eligible incarcerated persons and commutation for individuals who would be eligible under the stronger model of compassionate release.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly encourages all stakeholders in the present processes of early release and commutation to embrace the tenants of compassionate release, including the Board of Pardons, the Governor, the Board of Parole, the Department of Justice, the Department of Corrections, the Office of Defense Services, and all law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders who can assist with applications for early release or commutation or who provide input in the processing of those applications.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly believes a system of compassionate release stands the strongest prospect of achieving justice, fiscal efficiencies, and public safety, and accordingly will explore and consider potential modifications to Delaware’s statutory framework for early release that would adopt more elements of a compassionate-release framework or would provide clarity on the import of infirmities or illnesses associated with old age and of demonstrated efforts to maximize participation in educational and other rehabilitative opportunities while incarcerated.
