Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - Tuesday, March 18, 1997 - Page A16
Yumi Wilson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Michelle Jaress Flores will be freed within 48 hours from the Central California Medical Facility in Chowchilla, said Judy Greenspan of the HIV/AIDS in Prison Project of Catholic Charities. Flores will be cared for by her mother, Jody Jaress.
"I am so relieved that Judge Welch finally signed the order," said Jaress, who plans to get specialized treatment for her daughter in Los Angeles. "I won't be truly happy until my daughter is released from prison custody and the guard is removed from her hospital room."
Welch's approval was the last step in a two-month process initiated by prison advocates to win Flores' release. In the past five years, 364 terminally ill prisoners have asked for compassionate release. Only one-third have gone home early. The others were paroled, discharged or died before their requests were processed.
"Flores' release is a victory for all of us who have been working over the past several years for the compassionate release of terminally ill and physically incapacitated prisoners," Greenspan said.
Thomas Maddock, interim director of the state Department of Corrections, initially rejected early release for Flores, saying she was still a danger to society. Flores was convicted in November 1994 of assault with a deadly weapon in Palm Springs and later convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia in prison. She was not scheduled for release until spring 1998.
Persistent pleas prompted Maddock to reconsider. On March 7, Maddock decided that Flores could go home early.
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