March 17, 2020: New York, New York
Criminal justice advocacy groups, including The Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, VOCAL-NY, and Worth Rises released the following statement in response to an employee at Sing Sing Correctional Facility testing positive for Coronavirus—the first official COVID-19 diagnosis in the New York State prison system:
“COVID-19 has officially entered the New York State prison system. That means thousands of incarcerated elder New Yorkers and other people in prison with vulnerable immune systems are at serious risk of contracting and dying from the virus. Governor Cuomo must act immediately by granting emergency clemencies to older adults, pregnant people, those with compromised immune systems and serious respiratory issues, and others vulnerable to contracting the virus. This is no longer a hypothetical. It is time for the governor to take swift and thorough action now, and grant life-saving clemencies.”