A Bronx judge approved the release Monday of 51 people jailed in New York City on alleged parole violations, the Legal Aid Society told the New York Law Journal

The orders bringing the total number of people released through Legal Aid's coronavirus-related filings above 210, the organization announced.

Corey Stoughton, attorney-in-charge of the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Practice's special litigation unit, argued in an April 3 petition that the group should be released on 14th Amendment grounds.

Stoughton praised Acting Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio's ruling in a statement Monday, but she said Gov. Andrew Cuomo could have ensured the releases happened sooner. At least 300 people at Rikers Island were sick with COVID-19 as of Sunday, according to Legal Aid, and two people jailed on alleged parole violations have died.

"As long as Governor Cuomo and others in government continue to mishandle this unfolding humanitarian crisis at our jails and prisons, we will fervently utilize the court and litigate to secure our clients' freedom," Stoughton said in her statement.

The state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision announced March 27 that it would release as many as 1,100 people accused of parole violations, but the release process has been criticized by advocates, who say it's moving too slowly and without transparency.

As of Monday, 760 warrants for people accused of parole violations had been lifted statewide, including 264 in New York City, according to DOCCS. A spokeswoman said the majority of those people have been released, but some remain in custody for a variety of reasons, including because they've been charged with a different crime. The review of the 1,100 cases ongoing, the spokeswoman said.

Sources familiar with conditions at Rikers Island have said typical COVID-19 prevention measures, such as social distancing and meticulous sanitation procedures, are nearly impossible in the jail setting. Legal Aid has focused on filing on behalf of inmates for whom, because of their age or preexisting conditions, the virus poses a particularly high risk.

Inmates' access to parole violation hearings in New York is also the subject of a proposed class action suit in the Southern District of New York, where attorneys with Legal Aid and the New York Civil Liberties Union have argued that many people are at unnecessarily high risk for COVID-19 infection because the pandemic is delaying their hearings.

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