A struggle is being waged to get them out under compassionate release. A bill now before the state legislature would set strict time limits and medical criteria for compassionate release of terminally ill and physically disabled prisoners with AIDS and other serious illnesses. The bill was approved in the Assembly by a vote of 62 to six and is now going to the Senate. Last year Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed a similar bill. Greenspan said that while at least half the states, including California, have laws on the books regarding compassionate release, they are unworkable.
Many prisoners die before getting through the process.
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