The Legal Aid Society called on the New York State Legislature to pass policies to protect incarcerated New Yorkers from COVID-19. Since March, 17 New Yorkers have succumbed to the virus at state prisons and hundreds more have contracted the virus, as reported by NYN Media.

The Legal Aid Society also reaffirmed the need for Albany to release vulnerable individuals from carceral settings who remain at a higher risk of infection, and whose lives are being needlessly put in danger.

“The state knew better. It had multiple lists of medically vulnerable people to consider for immediate release and expert recommendations for facilitating those releases – but it simply ignored them,” said Stefen Short, Supervising Attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society.