The Legal Aid Society and Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, in light of the quickly escalating public health crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered within New York State prisons, filed a petition for habeas corpus on behalf of five clients seeking their immediate release from facilities in Oneida County, New York, reports THE CITY.

This litigation comes just weeks after Legal Aid called on the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) demanding the immediate release of these clients. That communication went unanswered. The petition was drafted with the pro bono legal assistance of attorneys from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.

The state prison system in New York has not been spared from COVID-19. As of April 30, 2020, DOCCS reports that 1,060 staff members, 370 incarcerated people, and 46 parolees in DOCCS custody are infected. Per DOCCS, 2 staff member, 10 New Yorkers in custody, and 4 parolees have already succumbed to the virus. Marcy and Mid-State correctional facilities, the prisons where these plaintiffs are currently incarcerated, both have confirmed COVID-19 cases among the population.