NJRC Announces Women's Project Report Press Conference

TRENTON, NJ — The New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC) will host a powerful press conference on Thursday, April 3, at 12:00 p.m. inside Committee Room L-109 of the Legislative State House in Trenton, to unveil a groundbreaking report titled “Sentencing Reform for Criminalized Survivors of Abuse in New Jersey.”

The NJRC Women’s Project Report shines a light on the dire need for justice reform, revealing that 72 percent of first-time violent offenders at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility were themselves victims of abuse by the individuals they harmed. The report calls on New Jersey lawmakers to follow states like New York, Illinois, and Oklahoma by adopting sentencing and resentencing provisions specifically for survivors of domestic violence.

“Far too many survivors of domestic violence remain trapped—not only by their abusers, but by our criminal justice system,” said Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (NJ-29), who is expected to speak at the conference. “New Jersey must seriously consider the lead of other states by enacting a Survivors Justice Act (SJA).”

An SJA would allow courts to consider the effects of abuse when determining sentences, offering a path to reduced or non-carceral outcomes for those who can prove that past abuse significantly influenced their offense. The lack of such a provision in New Jersey law currently limits judges from fully exercising discretion in these emotionally complex cases.

Civil rights attorney Larry Lustberg emphasized the importance of this legal shift. “These sentencing reform laws will empower courts to consider past abuse and its contribution to the offense in sentencing. Those who can prove that they were survivors of abuse at the time of their offense... should receive reduced or non-carceral sentences,” he said.

Jim McGreevey, Executive Director of NJRC and longtime advocate for incarcerated individuals, added, “A staggering number of survivors are behind bars for defending themselves, or for crimes directly tied to their trauma. I have witnessed this suffering firsthand through my work with incarcerated women in Hudson County. It’s time New Jersey takes action.”

The Women’s Report is in anticipation of the NJRC Annual Reentry Conference on domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, which will be held on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at St. Peter’s University.