The Legal Aid Society and Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, in light of the quickly escalating public health crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered within New York State prisons, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus today on behalf of 9 clients seeking their immediate release from facilities in Westchester County, reports the Associated Press.

This litigation comes only a week after Legal Aid called on the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) demanding the immediate release of these clients. That communication went unanswered. The petition was drafted with the pro bono legal assistance of attorneys from Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.