300 NYC Detainees To Be Released Amid Coronavirus Outbreak: Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio will speed up efforts to release city jail detainees in the wake of a novel coronavirus pandemic expected to slam the city in about two weeks, he announced Tuesday.

Approximately 300 out of 5,000 city jail inmates will be immediately released and the Mayor's office will work with the NYPD, New York City district attorneys and New York state officials to identify and release others, according to the Mayor.

The detainees are people with less than a one-year sentence convicted of non-violent, misdemeanor crimes whose age or health status make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, de Blasio said.

"I'm trying to strike this balance between the humanitarian need," de Blasio said. "And be mindful of the public safety issue."

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De Blasio said he was not prepared to release those convicted of domestic violence or sexual abuse and did not have the power to release detainees awaiting trial or incarcerated on technical parole violations.

It will be up to New York City's district attorneys to determine whether about 100 vulnerable detainees awaiting trial can be released and up to the state to decide how many of the 700 incarcerated on technical parole violators are released, according to de Blasio.

The announcement came hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the wave of COVID-19 cases about to hit New York was larger and arriving sooner than initially predicted, and as Legal Aid filed its second lawsuit to force the release 32 New Yorkers held on minor parole violations.

"The City of New York continues to drag its feet, risking the lives of thousands in the process as COVID-19 continues to spread at city jails,” said Legal Aid attorney Corey Stoughton. “New York cannot leave people in jails behind to suffer and die.”

The New York City Board of Correction, which is responsible for oversight of the city's jails, recommended last week that the city release all detainees who are over the age of 50, have underlying health conditions, have sentences of less than a year or are in detention for parole violations.

There are 551 detainees who meet those criteria, according to the Board of Correction.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Tuesday he supported the Mayor's decision to release a limited amount of detainees.

"You have to be a realist and you have to be humane." said Shea. "It's a very difficult decision, let's try to do what's right."