We Shoot 'em, You (Pay to) Care for Them

State and federal prison systems are constantly dealing with the rising health care costs of aging inmates. Sometimes, they will dump elderly inmates back into society rather than incur the cost of their care. But most of the time, at least the prison system isn't responsible for the inmate's condition. The New York parole board released a prisoner this week who has been brain dead since being hit in the head with a projectile fired by prison guards during a prison incident. He was released before his next regularly scheduled parole board appearance and was completely discharged (meaning no more parole). The probable reason? The $1056 per day tab for his medical care, which has now been shifted onto his family.

Update/Mea Culpa: Apparently I was suffering from geographic dyslexia yesterday - this story involves the California prison system and parole board, not New York's.