Legal Aid Society client with mental illness sentenced to two to four years for stealing Nyquil should be in treatment, not prison, reports the New York Daily News.

An op-ed in today’s Daily News calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to commute the sentence of Reggie Randolph, a Legal Aid Society client currently serving two to four years in prison for stealing NyQuil from two Duane Reades in New York City. Randolph, who is almost fully blind, suffers from life-threatening medical issues, and is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, has already painfully served almost 900 days in jail and prison combined for the 2018 shoplifting charges.

“What Randolph needed then and still needs, is treatment and a supportive place to live,” the op-ed states. “Incarcerating him for additional months or years will neither help him nor make the public safer . . . Should Randolph stay in prison, taxpayers will spend (and waste) a lot of money and Randolph will get more ill and go completely blind, unless he dies first.”

A clemency order from Gov. Hochul would allow Randolph to reside at “The Redemption Center,” a supportive transitional housing facility that has a bed waiting for him, and receive wrap-around treatment services that are in place and ready to embrace and support him. Randolph has also been approved by the New York City Human Resources Administration for long-term mental health supportive housing operated by the state Office of Mental Health.