NY sheriff pushes to keep inmates behind bars during COVID-19 pandemic
The New York Supreme Court rules against efforts to release over 100 Suffolk County inmates during the pandemic; Sheriff Errol Toulon, Jr. reacts on 'Fox & Friends.'
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Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. on Wednesday reacted to the New York Supreme Court ruling against efforts to release over 100 inmates during the coronavirus pandemic.
Toulon said that the release of inmates with substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness and homelessness issues would pose a greater risk of coronavirus infection in the community.
“These men and women will then be returned back to the street without the proper health to really monitor them and then assist them in the issues that they’re facing,” he told "Fox & Friends."
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Toulon said that the inmates are better off being detained in jail, where they can receive proper medical treatment for the coronavirus.
“If you put them out in the street with the pandemic issues that we’re currently facing, they will then have an opportunity to contract the virus.”
Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Society brought a lawsuit against the New York Department of Corrections to demand the release of 116 inmates. The Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed late Thursday claimed that the group of men and women targeted for release have pre-existing conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
It also cited the inmates being age 50 or older.
“The inmates are behind bars while they await trial or landed there after violating their parole conditions," the court papers say, according to the New York Post.
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Toulon said that although one inmate contracted the virus there, the Suffolk County correctional facility is doing a “great job” in monitoring their population.
“I think we’re doing a good enough job that they should stay where they’re at.”
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