Organ donations for reduced prison sentences

Brut America

Inmates could donate organs or bone marrow in exchange for time off their prison sentence if a newly proposed bill in the state of Massachusetts is passed …

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00:00A proposed bill in Massachusetts would give inmates up to a year off their prison sentences,

00:04but only if they donated their organs or bone marrow. So how would it work and how has it

00:08been received? Brute can explain in less than 60 seconds. Inmates eligibility would be determined

00:12by a new five-person panel, which includes organ donor specialists, correction officials,

00:17and prisoner rights advocates. Using an infographic, one of the bill's co-sponsors

00:20pointed out there is no current system in place in Massachusetts that allows inmates to donate

00:25their organs, even to their own relatives. The infographic also shows the state has a

00:295,000-person wait list for organ donations, and supporters of the bill believe this program could

00:34help fix that by giving inmates bodily autonomy. The policy director of Prisoners Legal Services

00:39of Massachusetts, however, said it could lead to a rise in coercion and that solutions should focus

00:44on the underlying structural problems leading to health disparities, including ongoing needless

00:49incarceration of so many. The president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums also said

00:53it seems like something out of a science fiction book or horror story.

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