The Legal Aid Society, as counsel for the plaintiff class in Nunez v. City of New York, et al., filed a letter on September 17, 2021, in the United States District Court requesting court action to protect people from the extraordinary harm they face given the collapse of basic operations in the City jails, as reported by Spectrum News.

That court relief could include, according to the letter to the Hon. Laura Taylor Swain, court-ordered releases to curb the humanitarian crisis in the jails.

In 2014, Legal Aid brought Nunez to challenge the systemic brutality by staff against people incarcerated in New York City jails. The case resulted in a landmark consent decree mandating significant reforms in the use of force practices in the City jails and steps to address the systemic causes of violence. Since then, a federal monitor has overseen various aspects of jail operations, including in relation to safety, staffing, and disciplinary issues. Under the consent decree, the Court retains the power to issue orders necessary to ensure that the Department of Correction (DOC) is complying with terms of the agreement designed to keep people who are incarcerated safe from harm.

According to the letter, the federal Monitor issued special reports on August 24 2021, and September 2, 2021 describing emergency conditions in the jails. Sworn testimony by City officials at a City Council hearing on September 15 confirmed that the jails are not safe.

The risk of harm to class members is extraordinary. Twelve class members have died in DOC custody this year- with the two most recent deaths, of Legal Aid client Isaabdul Karim and another yet-unidentified person, occurring just in the past week.

“It is clear that our clients are in danger every moment that they are in DOC custody, and we are using every tool we have to address the harms they are facing,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-In-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society. “We must decarcerate now, and we must do everything we can to address the risks to those who remain behind jail walls.”