The Legal Aid Society reaffirmed the need for the immediate release of incarcerated New Yorkers at local jails after the passing of Walter Ance, a Legal Aid client who passed away Saturday from COVID-19 in the custody of the New York City Department of Correction (DOC). Mr. Ance, 63 years old, was held pretrial at Rikers Island for over 13 months.

According to THE CITY, Mr. Ance was considered high risk if he contracted COVID-19 due to his age and because he suffered from diabetes and prostate issues.

Demonstrating the rapid pace at which the virus spreads within carceral settings, in New York City, as of April 13, 2020, 323 incarcerated New Yorkers had tested positive for COVID-19. Already, 7.8 percent of people incarcerated in City jails have contracted COVID-19, a percentage almost 6 times higher than New York City, 7.8 times higher than New York State, and 44.2 times higher than the rest of the country.

“The [city correction] officer wished that [Ance] could go home. He asked me to keep helping him to hopefully get him released. He thought no one should be in a hospital jail like that,” said Alejandra Lopez, a Staff Attorney with the Queens Trial Office at The Legal Aid Society. “It really saddens me to know that he passed away awaiting justice. It’s very tragic.”

Ms. Lopez, who had been working on Mr. Ance’s case, shared a letter after his passing expressing her grief and her reaffirming her commitment to the idea that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with due process under the laws of our country.

Read her full letter here.