Whitmer Signs Bills To Allow For Parole Of Seriously Ill Inmates

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LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed laws letting Michigan release seriously ill and incapacitated prisoners early by having them treated at nursing homes or hospitals instead.

Whitmer says the four new measures will help the state properly manage treatment options for an aging prisoner population while reducing costs.

Those eligible will remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, but be paroled before their earliest release dates if cared for in non-prison facilities. The state could save money because the treatment of "medically frail" inmates could be fully or partly covered by federal insurance programs.

The Democratic governor signed the legislation Wednesday. It had received overwhelmingly legislative approval and will take effect in August.