The Legal Aid Society called on Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to release New Yorkers who are vulnerable to COVID-19 as nine incarcerated people have died in a three-week span and more than 1,000 incarcerated people have been infected in that time, reports WNYC/Gothamist.

This brings the total death count to 27 avoidable deaths. Another 3,459 New Yorkers incarcerated at state prisons have been infected with the virus since the pandemic began. For those who have been infected, the lingering effects and long-term complications of the virus remain unknown

“That’s one of the many reasons why New Yorkers should care about what’s going on behind prison walls, said Sophie Gebreselassie, a staff attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society. “The virus does not respect barbed wire,”