NY to release incarcerated people early from state prisons. How will the releases work?
Up to 700 incarcerated people in New York will be eligible for early release under a new measure aimed at addressing staffing shortages in the state's prison system, state officials said Wednesday, April 2.
The early release policy came after state officials last month fired 2,000 prison workers who refused to return to work following the resolution of an illegal, three-week strike.
The incarcerated people eligible for early release were already approved for release within the next roughly 90 days, state Corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said, noting the final figure of people getting released early would likely be less than 700 because cases are still being evaluated to ensure they meet eligibility requirements.
Incarcerated people are not eligible for the early release program if they have been convicted of sex crimes, violent felonies or more serious felonies like murder, terrorism, and arson, Martuscello said during a media briefing in Albany.
Those being released early must also have an approved residence, which is not a shelter or Department of Social Services placement.
Details of the early release program were released in a memo directing state prison leaders to identify incarcerated people who met the eligibility requirements. The list of early release candidates was to be finalized by Friday, the memo noted.
The details of the early release memo included:
The incarcerated person is within 15 to 110 days of an approved release date, and has identified an approved residence for them to use upon release.
The memo prohibits the early release of anyone serving a sentence for an A-1 or A-1 non-drug offense, a class B through E violent felony offense, or a sex offense.
Lawsuits: 2 upstate NY counties sue to overturn Gov. Hochul ban on hiring prison workers who struck
The early release program aims to help ease the strain on about 10,000 workers across the state's 42 prisons since the firing of thousands of workers. The state has also in the process of beginning to demobilize the thousands of National Guard members who were deployed to staff prisons during and after the strike, Martuscello said.
Overall, the state's prison population is down about 55% from its high in 1999, with the number of incarcerated people falling from 72,773 to 32,400, according to statistics provided by the state.
Mass firing: NY prison strike ends after three weeks with most workers returning and 2,000 being fired
New York Republicans slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration and other Democratic state lawmakers for releasing incarcerated people early, calling it potentially dangerous.
"This desperate measure highlights many of the concerns raised by correctional officers regarding inadequate staffing and the safety of inmates, staff and visitors at facilities statewide," Assembly Republicans said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY state prison early release: What to know
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