According to NYDailyNews, Leonard Carter, 60, was convicted of murder back in the ’90s but was granted parole in January. He was set to be released in just six weeks.

Sadly, Carter will never see that release date. He died on April 14 from COVID-19.

Coronavirus brought a great many societal issues to the table and one of which is the way we treat people who have been incarcerated. While some inmates have been released across the nation, many have had to sit it out on a hope and a prayer that prison officials would take the necessary precautions to keep them safe.

BREAKING: Another incarcerated elder has died. The Parole Board GRANTED release to Leonard Carter after 25 years in prison. Because @NYGovCuomo excludes people like Mr. Carter from his tiny COVID releases, he died weeks before his freedom. #ClemencyNow https://t.co/snbJ5I0N95

— Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (@RAPPcampaign) April 21, 2020

“It is a horrifying and preventable tragedy that Leonard Carter passed away from COVID-19 a mere six weeks from his release date and having been already granted parole,” said Katie Schaffer, the director of advocacy and organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives.

“For those within a year of release and those — like Mr. Carter — who have already been granted parole, there is no legitimate argument for making people complete these sentences, only a hunger for maximum punishment that will increase the death toll of this pandemic.” [NYDailyNews]

Carter was being held at the Queensboro Correctional Facility in New York. This holding area is where all inmates serving the last 120 days of their sentence are housed. I am not sure how I feel about releasing prisoners early, but if they have been doing it across the country, it does seem reasonable that if there is that little time left on the clock that they should be released as a matter of safety.

The governor's directive excludes from early release people like Leonard Carter, 60, because he was convicted of a violent crime, murder. Carter was granted parole in January, but died of COVID-19 waiting to be released. https://t.co/6mgGRPCV3k

— Noah Goldberg (@Noah__Goldberg) April 23, 2020

Please join me now at a vigil and memorial for Leonard Carter, who died at age 61 from COVID-19 in Queensboro Correctional Facility EVEN THOUGH HE HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROVED FOR PAROLE after serving 24 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/gS85J0N26c

— Rabbi Rachel Timoner (@rtimoner) April 23, 2020

“Socially distancing at Queensboro is impossible as the men sleep in dormitory-style bunks, mere feet away from each other,” said Lazara Almonte, whose son is incarcerated at Queensboro and set to be released in four months.

“The thought of losing our son when he’s four months away from being released is just too much to handle. I am pleading for Gov. Cuomo to free those who are within one year of release and all those who are older or medically vulnerable. My son’s life is in your hands.” [NYDailyNews]

While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been widely praised for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, this is a blind spot that has cost lives unnecessarily.

 

 

This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on April 23, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.

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