To the editor:

Here’s hoping the governor resists massive releases of inmates due to COVID-19, despite the pleas of inmate advocates (May 7 issue). Compassion is never wrong, but misplaced compassion can lead to bad decisions and do more harm than good. The advocate quoted at the end of the article seems to say that 98% of even older inmates are in for violent crimes or sex crimes. If correct, that is a shockingly high number and suggests that everyone who can safely be released already has been. Frankly, these men are where they belong. The state should do all it can to keep them healthy, but its obligation to protect the innocent from them comes first.

Joseph Kimpflen

Tupper Lake