Parole committee approves medical furlough for 76-year-old inmate Clarion Bay to transfer to River Oaks

The Committee on Parole voted April 2 to grant a medical treatment furlough for Clarion (Clarion Dalarion Bay), a 76‑year‑old inmate serving life for a first‑degree murder conviction later resentenced following appeal. The committee held its hearing at DOC headquarters in Baton Rouge; the inmate’s care placement would be at River Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Baker, Louisiana.

The furlough is permitted under Louisiana Revised Statute 15:574.2, which authorizes a medical treatment furlough initiated by the institution for inmates who require outside medical care. The committee heard medical testimony describing a steady decline in Bay’s health, including strokes, spinal stenosis, chronic kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, seizures and near‑total vision loss in his left eye, and was told Bay has been on the prison nursing unit for about 15 years.

Dr. Bill Cranford, identified in the record as a nurse practitioner involved in Bay’s care, told the committee he has treated Bay for roughly three years and described a marked decline following a carotid body tumor surgery and subsequent complications. "There has been a pretty steady decline in his overall health," Cranford said, adding Bay has been essentially wheelchair bound and required continuous oxygen after aspiration pneumonia.

Maggie Eubanks, a second‑year law student with the LSU Law Parole Clinic who spoke on Bay’s behalf under supervision, summarized the institution’s request and described Bay’s medical needs and the fiscal strain on the penitentiary. She told the panel Bay is prescribed 33 medications per month with an estimated cost of about $15,000 monthly (GoodRx estimate) and that frequent hospitalizations and constant monitoring increase costs and strain staff. "Medical treatment furlough is a unique form of parole established under Louisiana law through Louisiana Revised Statute 15:574.2," Eubanks said.

Warden Daryl Benoit and other prison staff spoke to Bay’s behavior history: Benoit said Bay had disciplinary problems when younger but "he's been on the nursing unit for 15 years now" and is not a current security threat.

The committee voted to grant the medical treatment furlough with conditions intended to preserve supervision and public safety: Bay must remain at the designated nursing facility except for advanced medical appointments, may not have a cell phone or a landline in his room (calls allowed only when a probation and parole agent is present for monitoring), will be supervised at the highest community supervision level assigned by probation and parole for the furlough period, and will return to Louisiana State Penitentiary if his medical condition improves.

Acting Chairman Steve Prater announced his support and listed the conditions when he cast the first vote. Two other committee members concurred and the motion carried. The committee emphasized that medical furlough is not a release or pardon; Bay remains legally in custody and subject to return.

The next step is placement coordination between the Department of Corrections, River Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and probation and parole to effect the transfer and implement the monitoring conditions.