Jail oversight board calls on city to release detainees to stop COVID-19
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The entrance to RIkers Island. Eagle file photo by David Brand
By David Brand
The independent agency that oversees Rikers Island and other municipal jails has urged the city to release detainees in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, joining a growing movement of advocates and public defenders organizations that have championed drastic criminal justice measures to stem the outbreak.
The Board of Correction specifically called on the city to release detainees who are at a high risk of contracting COVID-19, including people over 50 and people with underlying health issues, as well as detainees serving sentences of less than year. The Board also urged the state to release people held in city jails on technical parole violations. The measures would “rapidly decrease” the jail population, the Board said.
“While Department of Correction and Correctional Health Services staff continue to perform heroic work to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in the jails and maintain safe and humane operations, the City must drastically reduce the number of people in jail right now and limit new admissions to exceptional circumstances,” the Board said in a statement Monday.
The Board pointed out that Los Angeles County and Ohio’s Cuyahoga County have already released detainees to stem the spread of the illness. “The city must begin this process now,” the Board added.
“Significantly fewer people in jail will limit the spread of COVID-19 infection among people in custody and those who work in the jails,” the Board said.
Hours after the Board issued its recommendation, the Legal Aid Society doubled down on its call for the state to release detainees held on technical parole violations. Public defenders have refused to enter confined spaces for parole negotiations at Rikers, THE CITY reported.
“Our clients’ rights to due process includes the right to health and personal safety,” said Lorraine McEvilley, director of Legal Aid’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit “Our attorneys and others who work in the system deserve the same.”
A DOC investigator died from COVID-19 Sunday, the agency said. The 56-year-old man, David Perez, had not had contact with detainees in more than a month, however, according to DOC.
The mayor signed an executive order suspending all visits to Rikers Island starting Wednesday. The DOC protocols for stemming the spread of the illness include medical screenings for all people entering the jails, following basic flu-prevention procedures and sending home staff with respiratory issues.
“The health and well-being of our personnel and people in custody is of paramount importance,” said DOC spokesperson Peter Thorne in a statement. “The Department is working in coordination with the NYC Department of Health and Correctional Health Services to identify and evaluate detainees with potential symptoms and refer them for testing as necessary.”
