The Legal Aid Society reaffirmed calls for Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to promptly free vulnerable New Yorkers who qualify for New York’s early release initiative under which incarcerated individuals who are within 90 days of their release date and who are serving sentences for non-violent, non-sex offenses are eligible for immediate release, reports El Diario.

This particular report focused on Jorge Santiago, a Legal Aid client who became eligible for early release on Wednesday, October 23, 2020, but remains custody. Mr. Santiago is 58 years old and medically vulnerable to COVID, as he suffers from severe asthma, for which he takes both Albuterol and Fluticasone/Salmeterol. He has non-congregate housing to which he can return: he will live with his wife, Brenda Negron, in their home in the Bronx.

“A medida que el COVID-19 surge en todo el estado, además, es urgente que el gobernador Cuomo vaya mucho más allá para implementar esfuerzos más amplios, similares a los emprendidos por otros estados, para liberar a los neoyorquinos vulnerables que no pueden protegerse del COVID-19 mientras permanecen en prisión,” said Ted Hausman, Supervising Attorney with the Criminal Appeals Bureau at The Legal Aid Society.