Thursday, May 18, 2017 | 3:26 p.m.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Assembly today gave final approval to a bill to release nonviolent elderly inmates from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences at home. The vote was 32-10, and the bill now goes to the governor.
The bill applies to those at least 65 years old who have served more than half their term and are in ill health or expected to die within 12 months.
The director of the Department of Corrections must determine if the prisoner is physically incapable of committing another offense. Two doctors also must verify the inmate’s condition.
Crime victims also must be notified before the inmate is freed.
To qualify for release, the inmate must not have been convicted a crime of violence, an offense against a child, a sex crime or vehicular homicide.
If the convict violates the terms of his parole, he can be returned to prison and lose all the good time credits he received while on parole.
The program does not apply to inmates sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole.
The Senate earlier approved the bill on a party-line 13-8 vote, with Republicans in the minority.
