Stefan Short, Supervising Attorney for The Legal Aid Society’s Prisoner’s Rights Project, appeared on WCNY’s The Capitol Pressroom podcast to discuss a federal lawsuit filed against the Cuomo administration by Legal Aid and Relman Colfax PLLC that alleges “deliberate indifference” to the health and safety of incarcerated New Yorkers at Adirondack Correctional Facility – an upstate facility that was converted to a prison for older people last summer amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 infections.

The lawsuit details a lack of testing, proper protective protocol and medical equipment that puts the older, medically vulnerable population – half being older than 65 – at particular risk from COVID-19.

“What we found in our investigation is that despite the fact that the population of the facility is extremely medically vulnerable, and despite the fact that if these folks get COVID they may suffer very serious consequences, the state hasn’t taken any additional measures, or really any measure at all to protect their health,” Short said.

“[It’s] very much a continuation of what we’re seeing at a lot of the facilities around the state, but in consideration of just how vulnerable this population is, we felt the need to take action,” he continued.

Listen to the full episode below.