California's Elderly Parole Policy: What the Data Says and What We've Seen Firsthand

Many of the people Land Together works with are directly affected by California's elderly parole policy. Some have been incarcerated for decades, earning degrees, tending gardens, facilitating recovery groups, mentoring others, and doing the deep work of transformation. The data supports their release, and public safety is served, not undermined, by getting this right.

Land Together has been part of this conversation for years. In 2024, Land Together coordinated a series of educational tours of prisons, including one at the California Health Care Facility with representatives from the Governor's Office, the Board of Parole Hearings, the Division of Adult Parole Operations, the Office of the State Public Defender, and the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office. These tours were part of a broader effort to bring government officials face to face with the urgent need for expanded compassionate release, in particular for the elderly and terminally ill. Participants spoke candidly about the challenges of aging and accessing adequate care behind bars. Those conversations matter. So does this one.

UnCommon Law Executive Director Keith Wattley makes the case plainly in a new op-ed in CalMatters. Read more here.