In the wake of staff shortages caused by the 22-day wildcat prison strike that ended in March, state officials will review the cases of inmates within 15 to 110 days to the end of their sentences for potential early release.
Commissioner Daniel Martuscello cited the staffing crisis in a memo Monday to prison superintendents and noted a “large number” of people are potentially eligible for the early release.
The first release list subject to a series of exemptions for more serious crimes was to be submitted by Friday.
“Commissioner Martuscello has directed that a list of incarcerated individuals who are scheduled to be released in the next few months be reviewed for their transition into residential treatment,” said Nicole March, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“Incarcerated individuals are not eligible for the program if they have been convicted of sex crimes, violent felonies or more serious felonies like murder, terrorism, and arson. Participating individuals must also have an approved residence, which is not a shelter or DSS placement.”
The state fired more than 2,000 prison guards following the strike. Gov. Hochul also directed that those who were fired cannot be rehired. There was already an acknowledged staffing crisis in the prisons prior to the strike.
The Legal Aid Society said it “welcomed” the release plan, but added that it excludes a wide range of prisoners including those with medical conditions and older inmates who are further than the 110-day limit.
“These restrictions will leave behind far too many New Yorkers at a time when prisons are still reeling from an unauthorized work stoppage by corrections officers that continues to have profoundly harmful impacts on incarcerated people,” the Society said in a statement.
A number of Republican elected officials criticized Martuscello’s plan, saying the staffing crisis existed before the strike and repeating calls for his resignation. State Sen. Jim Tedisco of Glanville NY called it a “recipe for disaster for public safety.”
Thomas Gant, a community organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives, countered that the releases should go further, citing several pending bills aimed at reducing prison time for good behavior and other reasons.
“The NYS GOP’s assertion that releasing individuals already approved to return home constitutes a radical, pro-criminal agenda is absurd,” Gant said.
“Prolonged incarceration beyond the point of rehabilitation wastes taxpayer dollars, serves no public safety purpose, and keeps families apart.”