Letter from over 120 Columbia Scholars re: Reducing New York's Incarcerated Population

April 22, 2020

On April 21, over 120 Columbia University scholars, researchers, and educators released an open letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, urging his use of executive powers to immediately reduce the number of people incarcerated in New York’s prisons and jails. The letter expresses concern about harm coming to those who are incarcerated and those who are working in our state's prisons, jails and juvenile facilities, and about the potential for the heightened contagion in those facilities to inadvertently spread the virus to the larger community. In urging swift action, the letter also highlights disproportionate risks faced by people of color, who are more likely to work as essential staff in correctional facilities, and also more likely to be incarcerated.

Read the full letter here.

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