Judge, Prosecutors Permit Early Release Of 82-Year-Old Prisoner

WAUKEGAN, IL — An 82-year-old prisoner in declining health was released from Lake County Jail Wednesday after prosecutors and a judge accepted a petition on his behalf from a new local nonprofit.

Larry Hayes served more than 25 years of a 55-year sentence for manufacture or delivery of cocaine following his June 1993 arrest in North Chicago. He would have been due for parole in December of next year, records show.

Hayes now suffers from glaucoma and dementia and has been experiencing vision and memory loss, according to his family, the attorney who petitioned for his re-sentencing and the judge who approved his release.

Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim said both factors contributed to his decision not to challenge his petition for re-sentencing.

"Mr. Hayes has significant health issues, and had served most of a significant sentence," Nerheim said.

Hayes, a native of East Chicago, Indiana, was living in Chicago at the time of his June 1993 arrest in Lake County. He was found guilty after a two-day jury trial. Because he was convicted of having more than 900 grams of cocaine, he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

At his February 1994 sentencing, the judge sentenced him to 40 years longer the minimum. He had been incarcerated at the Dixon Correctional Center before being transferred to Lake County Jail ahead of the Sept. 25 resentencing hearing in Waukegan.

Lake County Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti said at the hearing she felt the initial sentence was appropriate but that circumstances have subsequently changed, according to the Lake County News-Sun. Rossetti noted that both parties endorsed resentencing under the revestment doctrine, which allows a trial court to be "revested" with the authority to impose a new sentence if both parties agree to seek an order inconsistent with a prior judgement.

Rossetti approved a reduction in Hayes' sentence from 55 years to 50 years, which was reduced by half for good behavior, allowing for Hayes to walk out of jail a free man. He will not have to return to court or serve any parole.

Hayes' sister, Theresa, who attended the hearing, said she had been advocating for her brother's release ever since his conviction.

"We had tried everything. We had tried clemency, early release, everything, all kinds of letters and we were not able to get anything," she said.

But then last month, Larry Hayes was contacted by Jennifer Soble, executive director of the Illinois Prison Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit she founded earlier this year dedicated to reducing the state's prison population by representing people who present no threat to the public. Soble identified his case as an appropriate candidate for release and presented the petition to Nerheim's office. Hayes, who is set to live in Milwaukee with family members, was the first prisoner her nonprofit has represented to be released.

"I was overwhelmed," said Larry Hayes. "I was just so appreciative. Nobody else has ever done anything for me like she's done, and I'll never forget her."

The Illinois Prison Project is currently working on about 150 cases, with about two thirds of them being elderly inmates, said Soble, a former federal public defender.

"I'm thrilled that Mr. Hayes is back home with his family. But there are thousands of elderly people like Mr. Hayes still serving sentences in Illinois' prisons, people who pose no risk to public safety but are extraordinarily expensive to incarcerate," Soble said. "It's my hope that prosecutors across the state will follow Mr. Nerheim's lead and agree to the release of more elderly people."

The elderly population in the Illinois Department of Corrections has been on the increase, according to the Illinois Prison Project, citing research from the Pew Charitable Trusts that found the number of older inmates is increasing while the overall prison population falls.

The nonprofit estimates Illinois spends somewhere between $247 million and $619 million a year keeping elderly prisoners behind bars — approximately a third of its overall prison budget. Such inmates cost anywhere from twice to five times as much to incarcerate, many have already served significant sentences and, according to the IPP, are far more likely to be a victim of a new crime in prison if they remain incarcerated than they are to commit one if released.