The Legal Aid Society has sued the Department of Corrections for the release of 116 vulnerable inmates in city jails amid coronavirus concerns.
The group of men and women targeted for release either have conditions like asthma, heart disease and diabetes, or are age 50 or older, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed late Thursday.
The inmates are behind bars while they await trial or landed there after violating their parole conditions, the court papers say.
“COVID-19 is most likely to cause serious illness and death for older adults and those with certain underlying medical conditions,” the court papers say. “Petitioners all fall into this category of heightened vulnerability.”
The virus, “has already reached Rikers Island and is currently spreading, posing an unconscionable and entirely preventable risk of harm to Petitioners,” The court documents say.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that he planned to release 40 inmates from Rikers Island who are most vulnerable to the disease.
The move came as four city correction officers tested positive for the virus and eight inmates at Rikers were separated from others because of symptoms resembling those of the virus.
And while the city is taking drastic measures to help slow the spread, “New York cannot leave people in jails behind to suffer and die,” the court filings say.
“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,” said Legal Aid’s Corey Stoughton. “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.”
The DOC did not immediately return a request for comment.
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