New York Case Underscores Coronavirus Urgency Around Clemency

NEW YORK — As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases inside New York prisons continues to rise, the Legal Aid Society of New York recently announced 20 emergency clemency applications for inmates with medical conditions that put them at high risk for complications from the virus.

The petitions that were filed on behalf of the inmates, several of whom were teenagers when they are accused of breaking the law, outline how chronic illnesses faced by inmates make them particularly vulnerable to the disease while in prison.

The Legal Aid Society said that one inmate, who they identified only by the initials J.S., suffers from chronic asthma. Currently serving a 6½-year sentence after pleading guilty in two separate incidents when he was a teenager, he is set to be released in August, though attorneys say he should be out now because of COVID-19.

“Given the potentially lethal consequences of keeping [J.S.] in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic, granting him that relief now is fully justified,” the application read.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that individuals with asthma are at particularly high risk of complications if they contract COVID-19.

The Legal Aid Society hopes that the applications will put pressure on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make good on promises to release inmates who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19.

“He said that every life is precious, so for these large numbers of vulnerable people in the prison system, it’s urgent for him to act,” said Ted Hausman, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society who supervised the applications.

Hausman said Cuomo could very quickly lower the inmate population if he so desired, and questioned why it is taking so long for him to act.

Cuomo has already instructed the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to begin identifying inmates for release, but so far, no incarcerated people have been released due to the pandemic.

A Cuomo spokesperson did not say whether the governor planned on granting the applications, but that he is monitoring the situation.

“On April 14, DOCCS began the process of releasing those with 90 days or less remaining on their sentence who are 55 years of age or older, and whose underlying crime was not a violent felony or a sex offense,” the spokesman’s statement read.

Factors such as whether the inmate has permanent housing will also play into the decision by DOCCS to release individuals early, he said. To date the DOCCS has announced 171 individuals it has identified for potential release.

Advocates say the governor and state officials are moving too slowly.

“The response from the Cuomo administration has been totally and wholly inadequate to the  detriment of and harm of a lot of people in prison,” said David George, the associate director of Release Aging People from Prison, who has been fighting for the release of populations at risk for complications from the coronavirus.

A DOCCS spokesperson said that while they are still only reviewing eligible individuals, they anticipate releasing inmates within the next several days.

George says the current number of inmates to be considered for release is simply too low to have a meaningful impact to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

“There are 6,500 people with pending clemency applications,” he said. “They’re just collecting dust on the governor’s desk.”