Broken ‘compassionate release’ rules strand Pa.’s sickest prisoners as costs to taxpayers soar – By Spotlight PA (Pennlive) / March 30, 2022
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Story by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA
Even three decades into a life sentence in Pennsylvania state prisons, Raymond Caliman had always been sharp-minded. He wrote letters to the Department of Corrections in exacting cursive with colored emphasis added where he wanted his legal argument to stand out.
But in 2020, things started to change.
His academic script devolved into a sideways scrawl. He began losing weight and complained of dull constant pain that worsened when he walked. His sister, Mary Buffaloe, noticed his words slurring through the phone.
Tests at an emergency room later found Caliman had been suffering from constipation and a urinary tract infection that went untreated for so long that the toxins his body would normally flush out leached into his bloodstream and affected his brain.
