The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is going to release some inmates early because of ongoing staffing shortages in the wake of the prison strike.

A memo from Commissioner Daniel Martuscello issued on March 31 said that inmates who are not serving a sentence for violent or more serious felonies such as murder, terrorism, and arson. Participating individuals must also have an approved residence, which is not a shelter or DSS placement.

Martuscello said using his authority to make this change in order to “have the appropriate balance between the safety and well-being of those working and residing in DOCCS Correctional Facilities and public safety.”

DOCCS will be sending lists of eligible inmates on an ongoing basis.

The prison system’s staffing took a hit with the three-week unsanctioned prison strikes. The state fired more than 2,000 correction officers who illegally walked off the job and did not return by a deadline. Gov. Kathy Hochul also signed an order to prohibit them from being rehired.

Prison staffing has decreased from around 13,500 before the strike to around 10,000.

State Sen. Dan Stec, R – Queensbury, criticized the decision. He said that instead of increasing prison staff by eliminating Hochul’s “insane” employment ban on fired COs and addressing prison safety, DOCCS is simply going to release convicted felons early.

“This move is a slap in the face to correction officers, who went on strike for 22 days to call for better conditions, and to all law-abiding New Yorkers. It’s more clear than ever that DOCCS isn’t run by Commissioner Martuscello or Governor Hochul; it’s being run by the inmates and radical, pro-criminal social justice advocates,” he said in a statement.

State Sen. Jim Tedisco, R – Glenville – said he thought it was an April Fool’s joke when he heard about the decision.

“In the litany of dumb ideas I’ve seen over the years, this one takes the cake as it’s a recipe for disaster for public safety,” he said in a statement. “And what an insult to crime victims by chopping 110 days off the sentences for these inmates. Can the Governor give 110 days of stress-free living to the victims whose lives were forever altered by these criminals?”

Tedisco said the governor should get back to the bargaining table and negotiate with officers.

Other groups welcomed the decision. The Center for Community Alternatives has been pushing for the state to release prisoners earlier.

“DOCCS’ decision to release a limited number of incarcerated people within 110 days of their approved release date is an overdue acknowledgment that New York’s prison crisis is one of over-incarceration, not staff shortages,” said Thomas Gant, community organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives.

“While a good start, this move is far too narrow and excludes tens of thousands of people who have long since demonstrated their readiness to return home and contribute to their communities. Meanwhile, we continue to receive reports of inhumane conditions inside prisons, and DOCCS has only reopened visitation on weekends, isolating over 33,000 people from their loved ones,” he added.  

Here more of Mark Mulholland’s conversation with Sen. Dan Stec by watching the video.