April Fool’s is No Joke This Year – New York really is letting everyone out of prison – well, not everyone, but plenty of people.
The New York Department of Corrections (DOCC) announced in a memo this week plans to release droves of prisoners due to a staff shortage at New York’s prisons.
DOCC Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III set an April 4 deadline for superintendents to submit the first list of possible prisoners to be released. Martuscello said he expected a "large number" of inmates to qualify.
“They brought upon themselves a self-fulfilling prophecy due to their application of ignorance. I do not understand how the Governor could have possibly thought this would not be the result of firing 2000 Correction Officers. Getting out of prison early for no other reason, other than you don't have sufficient numbers of staff is extraordinarily inappropriate,” said New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar.
"In view of the current staffing crisis, and in order to have the appropriate balance between the safety and well-being of those working and residing in DOCCS Correctional Facilities and public safety, it is appropriate that I, as Commissioner, exercise my authority... to move individuals from the Department's general confinement facilities, into Residential Treatment," Commissioner Martuscello wrote.
Kassar said, “It’s hard to overstate how badly Governor Hochul and her progressive colleagues in Albany have screwed up New York’s criminal justice system. They turned the greatest crime-fighting state in America into a national laughing-stock in a single generation. Progressivism at its finest.”
New York’s leftist Legislature and Governor’s, pro-criminal agenda is having high times. First, they passed bail reform that puts many accused, violent offenders back on the streets giving judges little power to hold people during trial who may pose harm to the community. Second, they passed discovery laws that make it incredibly difficult to bring violent domestic abusers to trial. Third, they create an impossible mental and physical environment for Corrections Officers forcing them into a work action. Then, firing 2000 of them for the ‘crime’ of advocating for better and safer working conditions.
Kassar said, “We often speak of the slippery slope. This one was greased pretty well.”
Not to be deterred by all of that ‘success’ on behalf of criminals, New York goes one step further and begins releasing prisoners early. Why, you say? Because of the self-created condition that led to work actions and Corrections Officers being fired.
“New Yorkers who thought Governor Kathy Hochul was kidding about releasing convicted prisoners early because of staff shortages — or because it’s April Fool’s Day — will be shocked to learn that it’s true after all. The Governor is actually planning to release convicted felons back into our communities because there aren't enough officers to guard them,” said Kassar.
Certain prisoners with up to 110 days left in their sentence will be released. Prisoners convicted of class B-E violent felonies, sex offenses, and some other crimes will not be eligible for early release.