COVID-19: Joaquin Phoenix calls for NY to release prisoners

Amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Joker fame actor Joaquin Phoenix has put out his proposal to release a number of prisoners as the spread of COVID-19 in prisons will threaten the health and safety of the inmates.

Washington: American actor Joaquin Phoenix called for New York to release some prison inmates, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 45-year-old on Tuesday (local time) shared his thoughts in a tweet released by the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign. Phoenix called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to take action immediately.

The tweet began, "A message from Oscar award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix: I'm calling on @NYGovCuomo to take action in New York by granting clemency to New Yorkers in prison. The lives of so many people depend on his action. No one deserves to die in prison from COVID-19."

Earlier in the video, he said: "The spread of coronavirus in prisons threatens the health and safety of all of us."

"When you're incarcerated there's no such thing as social distancing and ensuring good hygiene is not an option. Leaders must do everything possible to prevent incarcerated people and those who work in prisons from becoming ill and spreading the virus," the actor added.

According to news reports, as of Tuesday, there have been nearly 600,000 cases of the coronavirus in the United States and just over 25,000 deaths.

With inputs from ANI.