Categorically Caged: The Case for Extending Early Release Eligibility to Inmates with Violent Offense Convictions

Authors

Jenna M. Codignotto

Document Type

Note

Abstract

(Excerpt)

Susan Farrell faced both physical and sexual abuse from her husband before he was killed in 1989. Although Ms. Farrell maintained her innocence and urged that it was her son who killed her husband, she was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges, resulting in a life sentence without parole. After serving thirty years of her sentence at the Michigan Department of Corrections, Ms. Farrell’s tragic life met a no less tragic end. In April 2020, one month after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, Ms. Farrell seized in her cell for forty-five minutes before dying from the virus. She was seventy-four years old, which put her at an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. Yet, Michigan Governor Whitmer refused to make inmates like Ms. Farrell⎯that is, inmates with violent crime convictions⎯eligible for early release.