Monmouth Prosecutor, Sheriff Fight To Keep Inmates Behind Bars

FREEHOLD, NJ — Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni and Sheriff Shaun Golden joined together to successfully contest some of the 62 inmates that Gov. Phil Murphy wanted to have released from the county jail earlier this week.

Last week, Gov. Murphy decided to release up to 1,000 inmates across the state, all of whom who were deemed "low-impact, non-violent" offenders. The governor's order was intended to prevent the spread of coronavirus/covid-19. Several prison inmates have tested positive for the virus, and at least one corrections officer, at the Hudson County jail, has died from coronavirus/covid-19.

But Golden and Gramiccioni argued some of the cases, arguing that the inmates should remain behind bars to serve out the remainder of their sentence.

In total, the governor's office directed that 62 inmates from the Monmouth County jail in Freehold be released this week. The county prosecutor argued that 22 of those inmates should remain locked up. New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Louis Rabner heard the case on Tuesday, and decided to keep fourteen of those 22 in jail. Eight were still released.

Meanwhile, Monmouth County's elected officials, all Republican, want the Gov. Murphy to suspend the practice of releasing inmates entirely.

"We should look to suspend the practice as a whole,” said local Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, a former Middletown Township Committeeman. “The Constitution is not intended to be a mere set of suggestions. It’s the foundation for the American way of life. I understand that this is a dire situation, but in times of crisis, more than ever, we need to have faith in our institutions and work together to get through this.”

“The decision to keep the inmates in jail, was the right one, and we will continue to fight against the release of those inmates, even though listed by the courts as ‘low-impact, non-violent offenders’," said Sheriff Golden. "We must stand up for the victims, and, I thank the Monmouth County Prosecutor and his staff for their efforts to keep these offenders behind bars."

Provided by the Monmouth County Jail, here is the complete list of convictions for the eight inmates whose release was contested by the Monmouth County prosecutor, but were still released:

Inmate 1: Assault on a law enforcement officer
Inmate 2: Assault on a law enforcement officer/harm to a law enforcement dog
Inmate 3: Burglary/theft by unlawful taking
Inmate 4: Failure to register as a sex offender/violation of parole supervision for life
Inmate 5: Resisting arrest/throwing bodily fluid on a law enforcement officer
Inmate 6: Burglary
Inmate 7: Failure to register as a sex offender/violation of parole supervision for life
Inmate 8: Defiant trespass

"We are pleased to see the Supreme Court agreed with our arguments and reversed the Appellate Division’s decision," said Gramiccioni. "Even in times of crisis, it is all the more important to cling to our constitutional principles."