Prison Health: Daughter seeks medical parole for father after double stroke
Dominque Jones is trying to bring her father, Charles Brown, home from Angola after he suffered two strokes in June and July but was denied hospital visits.
By Robert Ward ·
Charles Brown has spent 44 years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, a facility where his daughter, Dominque Jones, used to call him multiple times daily. That routine ended in late June when Brown, 65, suffered a heat-induced stroke in an air-conditioning-less dorm. A second stroke followed on July 29, prompting a transfer to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge.
Jones says the hospital refused her visit because her father was not considered end of life. Since returning to Angola, Brown has received no physical or speech therapy, according to Jones. She reports that he cannot form complete sentences, read, or write, though he can sometimes point to family members or ask for phone calls.
Brown’s condition presents a complex case for medical parole. Under state law, he appears eligible as permanently disabled, but Louisiana lacks a formal application process for family members. Warden Darrel Vannoy and medical staff must identify candidates, and correctional officials often prioritize physical deterioration over cognitive decline. Dr. Nicole Mushero, a geriatric medicine expert at Boston Medical Center, notes that prisoners who can still wash and dress themselves are often not viewed as incapacitated despite cognitive impairment.
Jones’s father has been a central figure in her life since her birth in November 1982, the same year he was convicted of armed robbery and rape in Jefferson Parish. He helped her with homework and tracked her track meets by phone. He also co-founded the nonprofit Daughters Beyond Incarceration, which supports relationships between incarcerated parents and their daughters. Jones describes him as the brains behind the organization, which focuses on the needs of the girl.
Family members and friends say Brown’s physical appearance masks his cognitive decline. Jerome “Skee” Smith, a friend who served 38 years at Angola, says Brown was a mentor and fix-it man. Smith recalls Brown stopping him from fighting in 1990 with the words, “Stop! If you kill him, you ain’t never going home.” Smith now worries that Brown’s ability to use his arms and legs may prevent officials from granting release, despite his housing on the medical ward.
Sarah Staudt, policy director of the Prison Policy Initiative, argues that medical parole is fiscally smart because states pay 100% of care costs for declining prisoners. A recent analysis by Emily Widra found that few people benefit from current medical parole laws due to high standards and confusing processes. Jones continues to drive to Angola to see her father, stating that nothing substitutes for presence behind prison walls.
Jones says her father’s emails through the JPay system are currently impossible to decipher. She writes on paper to remind him of his identity, listing his parents, siblings, and grandchildren. She believes he is cognitively incapacitated in a way that seems permanent, but the formal path to his release remains unclear in the absence of a family-led application process.
