American actor and Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix in a video message called for New York to release some prison inmates in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which has gripped the entire world. The 45-year-old Joker actor on Tuesday shared his thoughts in a tweet which was released by the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign. In the video message, Joaquin called on Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to take action immediately.

The tweet said, "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 actions. 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." The actor further added, "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."

Apart from Joaquin, Grammy award winner John Legend also released a video message asking the Governor of New York to release the prisoners. "Leaders must do everything possible to prevent incarcerated people and those who work in prisons from becoming ill and spreading #COVID19. @NYGovCuomo, it’s time for action," John's tweet read.

For the uninformed, as of Tuesday, there have been nearly 600,000 cases of the coronavirus in the United States and just over 25,000 deaths.