Cornelia Li for NPR
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Cornelia Li for NPR
There is a group of about 150 people in federal prison known as "old law" prisoners who committed crimes before November 1987 and still have little hope of release.
Cornelia Li for NPR
Davon-Marie Grimmer has been struggling to get help for more than year for her cousin, Kent Clark. Sometimes, when he calls from prison, he asks to speak with relatives who are no longer alive. Sometimes, he forgets the name of his cellmate.
"As far as I know, he hasn't received any medical attention for the dementia, and he's just so vulnerable in there," Grimmer said. "He's 66 years old. He can't take care of himself."