Summary State Medical and Geriatric Parole Laws

People sentenced to death or serving a life sentence are typically ineligible for release. Some states specify that the person must be sentenced for a non-violent offense or stipulate offenses which are not eligible for release consideration.

While the vast majority of states have medical parole laws and a number of states have a geriatric parole law, they are rarely used. In 2019, Alabama granted medical parole to four people out of 19 referrals from the department of corrections. Out of more than 2,600 screenings for medical parole in Texas in 2022, 58 people were approved for release.

Medical Parole

There are 46 states and the District of Columbia with medical parole laws. These statutes typically specify that if, based on the judgement of a medical professional, an incarcerated person suffers from a serious medical condition that makes him or her no longer a threat to public safety or they are likely to die within a set timeframe due to a serious medical condition, they may be considered for release from incarceration. The releasing authority must also determine that the person is not likely to present a risk for reoffending.

Statutes in 36 states and the District of Columbia specifically address terminal conditions. Some of these statutes specify eligibility based on the timeframe within which the person is likely to die because of illness to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Statutory timeframes range from 30 days to two years.

At least 44 states and the District of Columbia specify a standard for the release of people who have serious medical conditions that may not be terminal but that prevent them from presenting a risk to public safety.

The majority of states that have medical parole policies also specify that, if the condition of an individual released on medical parole improves so that he or she would no longer be eligible for release, the parole may be revoked, and they may be returned to custody to serve the remaining sentence.

Geriatric Parole

Geriatric parole has been legislatively authorized in at least 24 states and the District of Columbia. These statutes typically permit people over a certain age who have served a specified number of years or percentage of their sentence to be eligible for release on parole. Alabama, New Mexico and North Carolina have the lowest age for geriatric parole, setting it at 55 years. Most other states set the limit somewhere between 60 and 65. Some states do not set a specific age. In Washington, for instance, statute refers only to "advanced age."

Most states require a minimum of 10 years of a sentence to be served before being eligible for consideration for geriatric parole. California sets the minimum length of time served at 25 years and Nevada requires an individual to serve a majority of the maximum term of their sentence.

Using the Database

Learn more about medical and geriatric release by exploring the 50-state statutory database.

The medical parole database can be navigated by using filters for state, terminal conditions and timeframes, and whether the parole is revocable if the condition improves. The geriatric parole database can be navigated by using filters for state, age eligibility and minimum time served. Text searching is available for information contained in the database. The map is also interactive and allows you to more quickly select multiple states to review. To remove applied filters, click the "clear all filters" button in the bottom left of the page.

Note that this database only contains statutory provisions and limited regulations that address each policy area. Case law, further regulations or agency policy may further impact the current state of the law in each state.

PLEASE NOTE: The National Conference of State Legislatures is an organization serving state legislators and their staffs. This site provides general comparative information only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice. NCSL cannot provide assistance with individual cases.