Reid’s daughter and sister cut the ankle monitor off
after she fell into a coma on Oct. 14, 2013
Robin Reid was dying of cancer when she was sentenced to four years in the San Diego County Jail – making her a perfect candidate for a compassionate release. But a new law wasn’t available, so she had to endure complex procedures to get the needed medical care, San Diego City Beat reports.
“SB 1462’s implementation has been delayed while the state sets up a process to ensure that indigent inmates released under the new law will have Medi-Cal coverage. Reid got caught up in that delay even though she had private insurance,” according to a City Beat editorial.
The county District Attorney’s Office granted a “special sentence” to Reid, who was convicted of operating an erotic massage business in San Diego.
“Reid was jailed Mondays through Wednesdays and allowed to leave Thursdays morning to receive chemotherapy,” according to City Beat Associate Editor Kelly Davis.
After spending nine months, checking in and out of the county jail, she was eventually released to home detention. With help from the ACLU and cooperation of the county sheriff, Reid was confined to the house except for medical appointments and to run certain errands.
During her home detention, “she had to wear a GPS ankle monitor at all times and was forbidden from using medical marijuana, which had previously helped alleviate chemotherapy side effects,” according to the editorial.
Reid was grateful for the amended sentence, City Beat reported, but home confinement and the ankle monitor made the last few months difficult. Reid’s daughter and sister cut the ankle monitor off after she fell into a coma on Oct. 14, 2013. “Reid died the next day” after entering a hospice in late September, City Beat reported,
County jail inmates who are terminally ill and medically incapacitated could not be granted compassionate release until SB 1462, supported by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, took effect in January 2013.
Currently, Los Angeles and Orange counties are running SB 1462 pilot programs and other counties will have the option to implement the law this year.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for prison Realignment requires the statewide corrections system to be smart with how limited resources are used. Under these new restrictions, jail and prison administrators should decide who should be released pending trial, who should be released to probation, and under what conditions.
Sheriff Baca estimated that while only 10 inmates would qualify annually for compassionate release from his jails, the savings on medical costs would be $7.3 million.
