An elderly woman in prison is losing her memory. Why won’t California release her?

The parole board's refusal to free Janet Carter, 69, is part of what advocates warn is a growing humanitarian crisis across the US

Prison guards stood by as Janet Carter, 69, sat in her wheelchair and tried to explain the gaps in her memory. It was May 2022 and her third time appearing before the California parole board, which would decide whether to free her after 25 years.

I can't remember a whole lot of stuff," she said when a commissioner asked why she couldn't articulate what she'd learned in prison programs. Her lawyer later pointed to a doctor's report that documented some causes: Parkinson's disease, early dementia, a neurocognitive disorder, chemotherapy and a head injury.