As the COVID-19 continues to spread across New York, placing the city in a virtual local down, The Legal Aid Society called for a moratorium on arrests and reaffirmed the need for the immediate release of all New Yorkers held on parole violations or in pretrial detention, reports City Limits.

“City Hall must place an immediate moratorium on arrests, and for the hundreds of clients we have languishing in DOC custody pretrial or because of a parole violation, we call for their immediate release. These facilities are literal breeding grounds for infectious disease such as COVID-19. The continued incarceration of our clients during this health crisis could very well carry a death sentence,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society