As COVID-19 continues to spread through state prisons and NYC jails, advocates, formerly incarcerated individuals, and family of those locked inside the Queensboro Correctional Facility demanded Governor Andrew Cuomo release state prisoners through granting clemencies—especially among the elderly or those with little time remaining on their sentences—at a rally on Tuesday.

Lazara Almonte's son, James Castro, has been quarantined inside of the Queensboro Correctional Facility for five weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He's been given no mask and social distancing is impossible, she said during the Tuesday rally in front of the facility, where inmates are incarcerated on the last few months of their sentences with an emphasis on re-entry programs for inmates.

Katie Schaffer, director of advocacy and organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives, says at least six coronavirus cases have been confirmed among inmates at Queensboro Correctional Facility.

"There's no social distancing between the correction officers or the inmates. They are not in a safe environment," Almonte said in front of the Long Island City facility at 47th Avenue and Van Dam Street in Queens. "I just ask that Governor Cuomo have mercy on every inmate that is in there. They are not sentenced to death. They should not have to die when there's a pandemic."

As of Tuesday, about 184 people remained incarcerated at the facility, according to the state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). Thousands more imprisoned statewide are within one year of their possible release—4,788 within one year of a conditional release on a determinate sentence and 2,952 within one year of release on an indeterminate sentence, according to the Center for Community Alternatives and numbers compiled by the Vera Institute of Justice. (DOCCS said to file a Freedom of Information Law request to confirm the numbers.)

In response to questions about the rally and if Cuomo and DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci had discussed possible releases, the department said it continues to look at all options to respond to the pandemic while maintaining public safety.

Almonte's son, Castro, told NY1 last week he had a shirt wrapped around his face to try to protect himself. "We're not in a safe environment anymore," Castro said.

Another inmate named Kasheem told the news channel, "Each bed is literally a little less than two feet away from each other."

"I woke up this morning thinking about what horror and trauma must be happening inside the New York State prison system," said Marc Shervington, who was in prison for 29 years and is now an organizer with Release Aging People in Prison. "During my experience, there was several infectious outbreaks. We had SARS, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and a few others. And we had no way other than just the sheer will to survive to make it through."

"What little was done in the way of disinfecting was negligible," Shervington recalled of his time in prison.

Assemblymember Latrice Walker said via Zoom on Tuesday that she had previously visited the Queensboro facility, where detainees live in dorm-style rooms with bunkbeds among several people.

"Our prisons are dangerous incubators for coronavirus, COVID-19," Walker said.

During the coronavirus pandemic, in city jails and state prisons, the novel coronavirus has spread to hundreds of staff and inmates.

Two inmates in city jails have died—Michael Tyson, who was held on a technical parole violation, and Walter Ance, who was held pre-trial on Rikers Island for 13 months, according to the Legal Aid Society. A third inmate, Raymond Rivera, held on a technical violation has also died, just hours after he was released from Department of Correction custody.

"The officer wished that [Walter Ance] could go home. He asked me to keep helping him to hopefully get him released. He thought no one should be in a hospital jail like that." https://t.co/ScQAxKhe0y — The Legal Aid Society (@LegalAidNYC) April 14, 2020

Four state prisoners and four parolees have died, according to DOCCS, including Juan Mosquero, a 58-year-old held in Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

Among staff at jails and prisons, at least eight have died of the virus's complications, according to city and state figures this week. Advocates say the staff member's death in a state prison was a civilian employee who served food at Queensboro.

In NYC jails, including Rikers Island, more than 1,100 people have been released, including some incarcerated for state parole violations after Cuomo ordered some parole warrants be lifted. As of April 6th, 4,363 people remain.

But in state facilities, with a population of some 43,000, Cuomo has ordered no releases through clemencies or other methods. At a recent press conference, Cuomo said he had "no measures to lessen crowding in state prisons"—something health experts have said is critical to reduce crowding in the facilities where the viruses can spread like "wildfire."

DOCCS has not provided case information by facility for security reasons, but the department's figures from Tuesday show 618 staff, 150 incarcerated individuals, and 24 parolees have tested positive for the virus among all state facilities.

"New Yorkers across the state want our loved ones home, want our neighbors home, do not want to see people die in prison of this illness, do not want to see this virus create death camps in New York State," said Schaffer, who led a chant, "no death camps in New York State, Governor Cuomo, we can't wait."

Schaffer said more protests are planned at prisons across the state as well as phone calls to Cuomo's office to demand action from the governor.

Some celebrities are joining local advocates in the call on Cuomo to grant clemencies as well, including, Oscar-award winning actor Joaquin Phoenix and model and actress Emily Ratajkowski. Kim Kardashian West has also supported more action from governors nationwide.

A message from Oscar award winning actor Joaquin Phoenix: “I’m calling on @NYGovCuomo to take action in New York by granting clemency to New Yorkers in prison. The lives of so many people depend on his action. No one deserves to die in prison from COVID-19.” #ClemencyNow pic.twitter.com/CEFEkwVTBV — Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (@RAPPcampaign) April 14, 2020

Cuomo's office did not respond to questions. We'll update this when we hear back.