LUDLOW – Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni repeated their concerns on April 23 about releasing inmates because of the threat of COVID-19 as well as discharging people who have been civilly committed for treatment of alcohol or substance abuse.

Cocchi said the court-ordered releases do not allow his staff enough time to take the steps they normally would take to ensure an inmate’s successful reentry into society.

The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Public Defender Agency of Massachusetts and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts filed the lawsuit earlier this year.

In a 45-page ruling released April 3, the Supreme Judicial Court wrote, “We agree that the situation is urgent and unprecedented and that a reduction in the number of people held in custody is necessary. We also agree with the Attorney General and the district attorneys that the process of reduction requires individualized determinations, on an expedited basis, and in order to achieve the fastest possible reduction, should focus first on those who are detained pretrial who have not been charged with committing violent crimes.”

In the lawsuit the plaintiffs wrote, “Plaintiffs are persons incarcerated in Massachusetts prisons and jails, all of whom are at immediate and extraordinary risk of infection, serious complications, and death from the novel COVID-19 virus. The named Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all prisoners who are incarcerated at prisons and jails in Massachusetts, with two subclasses: (1) All prisoners who are at high risk for serious complication or death from COVID-19 due to underlying medical condition or age, and (2) All prisoners civilly committed to a correctional facility under G.L. c. 123 § 35, for treatment of an alcohol or substance use disorder.”

Cocchi said that as of this date, there have been zero cases of COVID-19 among the inmate population and the people seeking treatment for addiction. He attributed that fact to the precautions instituted at the jail. There is screening of the staff daily, new inmates are medically evaluated, placed in quarantine and then live in a separate area before becoming part of the general population.

Cocchi noted that 25 staff members are staying home as a precautionary matter. He said that he “doesn’t have my head in the sand and expects the jail will have a cause of COVID-19 among the inmates at some point.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of if; it’s a matter of when,” he said.

He said the ruling and the subsequent releases are “will harm the very people they want to help.”

While Cocchi said he respects the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court to consider such releases, he said, “I ask you for your understanding in trying to preserve life.”

So far there have been 1,012 releases statewide and “some have been re-offended and some have been re-arrested.” Others have suffered overdoses. The timing of the releases didn’t allow jail officials to “prepare discharge planning,” Cocchi said.

Cocchi gave a recent example of an inmate who was ordered released at 6:30 p.m. He said five minutes after the man left the jail, they were told a mistake was made and the inmate should be brought back. The man was arrested at 1:30 a.m. the following morning after he flipped his car while driving under the influence.

Another release inmate broke into a home in West Springfield where he had broken into before his arrest.

Planning for release involves making sure an inmate has a place to live and plans for employment, among other issues, “People need an extra layer of support,” the sheriff explained.

For women who are at the county’s women’s jail, unplanned releases can mean returning to situations involving domestic violence, Cocchi noted.

Gulluni said “individual and thoughtful decision” must guide early releases. He added that public safety, victim’s rights and the health of inmates must be considered in any case.

Cocchi directed a plea to the legal activists who believe early release is beneficial to inmates: “Back off, enough is enough. Stop using the men and women in our care as political props.”