Corey Stoughton, Attorney-in-Charge of the Special Litigation Unit for The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice appeared on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show to talk about the ongoing crisis at City jails.

Eleven people have died in Department of Correction custody this year, including Isaabdul Karim, a Legal Aid client who passed last night while incarcerated on Rikers Island.  Mr. Karim suffered from a host of medical issues and contracted COVID-19 while mired in intake for ten days where he was denied access to his medications and critical medical care. He was held solely on the basis of non-criminal, technical violations of parole.

Stoughton explained that in New York a technical violation of parole rules, like missing a meeting with a parole officer or failing to report an address change, can result in individuals being sent back to jail.

The Less is More legislation, which Governor Hochul signed last week, comprehensively reforms the State’s parole system and her action should result in the immediate release of 191 individuals from Rikers. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio is threatening to slow the release of these individuals regardless of the cost.

Mr. Karim “was in Rikers this weekend solely because he was caught smoking marijuana, which is a noncriminal offense, and so he should have been released, but he was still there when he died,” Stoughton said.

“It shows the urgency of what needs to be done here,” she continued. “The mayor is not only refusing to consider releases of people to work release programs as many people have called on him to do…but he’s threatening to slow down the release of the people that the governor has stepped out and boldly said we need to release. There are lives at stake, there is someone who has already died who was in that situation.”

Listen to the full episode below: