The city’s five district attorneys and the Big Apple’s special narcotics prosecutor sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and his correction commissioner Monday slamming them for the planned release of violent inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The DA’s from Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island and special narcotics prosecutor Bridget Brennan, said they’ve been reviewing requests for the release of inmates from Rikers Island “with the goal of reducing health risks in a manner consistent with public safety.”
“Our review of the lists provided to date has led us to consent to the release of many hundreds of individuals due to their age and/or health condition; the nature of their charged crime; or the length of their remaining sentence,” reads the letter to Hizzoner and DOC Commissioner Cynthia Brann.
“At the same time, we want to make clear that the categories of those proposed for release have, in some instances, included individuals who pose a high risk to public safety,” the letter says.
The joint missive goes on to that “in those instances” the DA’s “have communicated our concerns, but these concerns have not always been heeded.”
“As an example, when we learned last week that [Brann] was about to use her authority to order an across-the-board release of hundreds of inmates serving city sentences, we were assured that the release would not include those serving time for domestic violence or sex offenses, given the risks to victims,” the letter states. “Unfortunately, we later learned that such individuals were indeed included in the ranks of those to be released.”
DA’s Darcel Clark, Eric Gonzalez, Melinda Katz, Cyrus Vance Jr., and Michael McMahon, also said they were “concerned” the process for releasing inmates gives “little consideration to the housing, supervision, and support-service needs to individuals who are being returned to their communities: needs that, if not addressed, will only compound the possible health, safety and other risks, both to the communities and to the individuals at issue.”
“At this point, the seemingly haphazard process by which at-risk inmates are identified, and the reports that those released may include violent offenders, are creating a public perception that our city’s jails may be incapable of providing sufficient health care for the remaining population of inmates,” the letter reads, noting, “We believe this perception is wrong.”
The letter adds: “Even at this difficult time, our society must have the ability to safeguard those who are incarcerated, to avoid violating their rights or endangering the community. In short, we should not have to make release decisions that we know will put communities at risk.”
De Blasio said Sunday that more than 650 inmates had been released over coronavirus concerns.
In their letter, the DA’s and Brennan called on the de Blasio administration to “immediately reassure the public and the courts that the city’s jail system is capable of appropriately managing the health needs of the remaining inmates, in a manner consistent with recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control for managing COVID-19 in correctional and detention facilities.”
They also called on the de Blasio administration to make it “clear” that “the city is capable to creating a secure model of inmate care that other municipalities will follow,” and that the review of inmates up for release “will continue to include an evaluation of public safety.”
Meanwhile, law enforcement sources griped that de Blasio was putting the public in harm’s way over the release of some inmates.
“The mayor is really jeopardizing the public by releasing some of these people,” one source said, calling the more high-risk inmates “the worst of the worst.”
Another source said, “During these trying times the people need to be assured not scared and that is all the mayor is doing.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.