About 50 inmates — including eight registered sex offenders — have been released from an upstate New York jail as part of the efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to a report.
The inmates were sprung Saturday from the Monroe County Jail as part of a statewide order by the Department of Corrections and Community Services, WIVB reported.
Nine of them are staying at a Holiday Inn Express in Greece, NY — including four of the sex offenders, three of whom have been convicted of raping minors and were registered as Level 3, meaning they are most likely to re-offend, according to the news outlet.
“It doesn’t make any sense. If you could present an argument to me that makes sense, I’m willing to listen. But this doesn’t make any sense,” Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan said.
The inmates were moved to the hotel after the department was ordered to release low-level technical parole violators amid concerns that the bug has spread in local lockups.
“So you have a violent criminal who’s done time in state prison who’s been given the chance of parole, and not followed the conditions of their parole. That’s who you’re talking about right now,” Phelan said.
The chief criticized the move and said he would have liked to have been notified because of the threat the inmates pose to the community.
The department told the station it made decisions on whom to release based on a “review of the underlying technical violation, not the original crime.”
“This significant action is being taken in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases in local jails over the past few days and weeks,” DOCCS said.
“Our top priority remains the public health and safety of New Yorkers during this global public health emergency and this measure will further protect a vulnerable population from contracting and transmitting this infectious disease.”
*story by New York Post