Plea to free 116 high-risk inmates
New York City and state should release 116 people in city jails who are at high risk of contracting coronavirus, according to a new suit from The Legal Aid Society.
Most of the inmates — including state parolees and others who are awaiting trial — are in their mid-50s or older, and a number of them suffer from heart disease, asthma or diabetes, says the suit, which was filed Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
One 19-year-old man who is asthmatic is also on the list.
“Release is the only effective means to protect the people with the greatest vulnerability to COVID-19 from transmission of the virus,” the complaint says. “(It) also allows for greater risk mitigation for all people who remain held or working on Rikers Island and other New York City jails…New York cannot leave people in jails behind to suffer and die.”
So far, one man incarcerated at Rikers has tested positive for coronavirus, Mayor de Blasio said Thursday night. He was put into isolation on the island’s communicable disease unit — along with eight other inmates who were housed with him on the island.
Three correction officers and a captain have also contracted the virus, officials said on Thursday.
“COVID-19 has already reached Rikers Island and is currently spreading, posing an unconscionable and entirely preventable risk of harm to these vulnerable individuals,” said Corey Stoughton, attorney-in-charge of the special litigation unit with the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society.
“Jails are a breeding ground for infectious disease and imprisonment at Rikers Island pretrial or on a parole violation hold might well carry a death sentence,” she said. “COVID-19 will continue to spread throughout these jails and people will die unless the city acts to release our clients who are at a heightened risk immediately.”
De Blasio said on Thursday that the city identified 40 inmates who will be moved out of city custody. Those individuals are at high risk of contracting cornavirus and pose low risk to public safety, he said.
It was unclear on Friday whether the people listed in the lawsuit overlapped with 40 others who are set to be released.
“These numbers are going rapidly every day,” the suit says. “There is no vaccine or cure for COIVD-19. No one is immune.”
As of Friday morning, there were 4,408 confirmed cases in New York City and 7,102 confirmed cases in the state, Gov. Cuomo said.