NY Release People Incarcerated for Technical Violations

Inmates are in very close quarters, visits are being suspended at all State prisons, inmates have relatively inadequate healthcare, and suppliers, like Walmart, are now refusing to deliver food and care packages to inmates. This greatly reduces the ability of family members to care for their incarcerated loved ones on their own.

There is a petition circulating asking the Governor to release the elderly, pregnant women, and those with a compromised immune system. We started this petition because we believe that inmates who are there for simple technical violations should be included.

A technical violation is when a parolee does not meet a condition of their parole but also DOES NOT commit a crime. These are things like failing to report for a scheduled visit, missing a curfew, or failure to gain employment.

Releasing inmates who are locked up for non-criminal technical violations would help reduce the load on valuable resources New York State needs now to fight this pandemic, to protect the wellbeing of inmates who cannot be released and allow these inmates to return home and care for their family members during this trying time.

Ohio was the first to release inmates due to COVID-19 concerns and we know you like to lead the way on innovative solutions to challenging modern problems.

Please, Governor Cuomo, release parolees who have been incarcerated for technical violations due to COVID-19 concerns.