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| Dying inmates seek release |
| By Press-Enterprise |
| Published: 02/02/2004 |
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Lonnie Creech is dying. So is Helen Loheac. Both sit behind razor wire and iron bars at California prisons. Both are waiting for a compassionate release. Creech, 52, has lung cancer and has been given less than three months to live. Loheac, 81, has a chronic kidney ailment and goes to dialysis three times a week. Their chances of going home to die, though, are slim. Legislation passed in 1991 allows some sick inmates with fewer than six months to live and who are not threats to society to die at home. Last year, only 17 inmates out of 48 who applied won a compassionate release from the California Department of Corrections. Seven more applied to the Board of Prison Terms. One was denied and three more are being considered by the board. Last year, Vidilla Spragin of San Bernardino was granted her request and was released from the California Institution for Women in Chino. Spragin, who had killed her husband by setting him on fire, died last month from liver cancer. Creech was sentenced six years ago to 14 years for assaulting a Riverside police officer and making terrorist threats. He spends his days in the infirmary at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, said Lt. Tim Shirlock. In July he was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and a tumor in his stomach, according to Sarv M. Grover, California Rehabilitation Center Chief Medical Officer. A compassionate release request with the California Department of Corrections was denied in September by then-director Edward Alameida. Two weeks ago, a second request was denied by acting director Richard Rimmer. Spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the decision was based on Creech's criminal history and current medical condition. "He is still ambulatory," Thornton said. Creech's family plans to appeal the decision to the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency and legislators. |
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