The Legal Aid Society condemned the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) in response to an article published today in THE CITY on an investigation by the New York City Board of Correction (BOC) examining three deaths that occurred in DOC custody last year.

The men died at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in conditions exacerbated by a series of DOC failures, the report shows.

The investigation details a complete disregard of social distance measures; severe overcrowding; an inability to keep facilities clean; a failure to distribute masks; and a denial of necessary treatment to people with underlying respiratory conditions.

“State and city officials need to do more to reduce the jail population, and maintain a smaller population to prevent other preventable tragedies, like Mr. Tyson,” said Philip Desgranges, Supervising Attorney with the Criminal Defense Practice’s Special Litigation Unit.