There is a group of about 150 people in federal prison known as “old law” prisoners who committed crimes before November 1987 and still have little hope of release.
Cornelia Li for NPR
Davon-Marie Grimmer has been struggling to get help for more than year for her cousin, Kent Clark. Sometimes, when he calls from prison, he asks to speak with relatives who are no longer alive. Sometimes, he forgets the name of his cell mate.

“As far as I know, he hasn’t received any medical attention for the dementia, and he’s just so vulnerable in there,” Grimmer said. “He’s 66 years old. He can’t take care of himself.”

Clark is one of about 150 people in federal prison who time mostly forgot. This group of “old law” prisoners committed crimes before November 1987, when the law changed to remove the possibility of parole. But even with the grandfathered-in chance for parole — and despite a push to reduce prison populations — dozens of men in their 60s, 70s and 80s still have little hope of release.

When Congress tweaked the law three years ago to allow sick and elderly people behind bars to apply to a judge for compassionate release, that change didn’t apply to the “old law” prisoners. They’re easy to overlook.

“They are the oldest and most vulnerable cohort of people within the federal prison system today,” said Chuck Weisselberg, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “I mean, their only path for release is through the parole commission, an agency that’s been dying for decades.”

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would give “old law” prisoners the chance to petition judges for release based on their age and poor health, but it’s awaiting action in Congress.

How Clark got here

The last time Grimmer saw her cousin face to face was before he went to prison 31 years ago. They were a tight family, sharing the same home in Newark, N.J., as children. She and his sister, June Clark, said relatives stood by Clark during his legal proceedings.

After a five-day trial, a jury convicted Clark of kidnapping and extortion. Prosecutors said he was part of a crew that abducted a postal worker, stole his uniform and tricked their way into the home of a bank manager in 1985. The alleged ringleader of the scheme fled the state — only to be captured, years later, after his girlfriend saw him featured on the television show America’s Most Wanted.