NJ Governor Should Issue More Pardons To Prisoners: Advocates

NEW JERSEY — There’s a little-used pathway to freedom for prison inmates in New Jersey that deserves to see more action as Gov. Phil Murphy’s second term reaches its halfway point, advocates say: “Clemency.”

Earlier this week, the ACLU of New Jersey launched a campaign to push Murphy to consider more executive clemency cases. People granted clemency can have their sentences shortened – or even pardoned completely.

Here’s how it works, according to the ACLU-NJ:

“Through clemency, executive authorities can offer incarcerated people commutations to shorten their sentences, or pardons to relieve them of all guilt for the crime committed. With categorical clemency, executive leaders can extend consideration for commutations and pardons to groups of people based on shared characteristics. So, for example, an executive authority might decree that rehabilitated people who were excessively sentenced for a certain type of crime are eligible for release. That enables people to get a chance at freedom independent of the deep, systemic flaws of the criminal legal system. Importantly, with categorical clemency, executive authorities can still review and evaluate individual cases within an eligible group of people.”

Murphy – or any governor who follows him – has “essentially unfettered” constitutional authority to grant this type of clemency, the ACLU-NJ says.

It’s a powerful tool that the governor’s office has used sparingly in recent history – and which Murphy hasn’t used at all since taking up the hot seat in 2018.

From 1994 to January 2022, only 105 people received clemency in New Jersey. More than half of those came from former Republican governor Chris Christie, who preceded Murphy in the governor’s office and issued 55 clemency orders during his tenure.

Meanwhile, governors in other states, like Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Missouri, have issued hundreds or thousands of pardons and commutations in recent years.

But there are signs that Murphy is warming up to the idea of putting the little-utilized tool to work during the second half of his term.

During a recent segment on WNYC, the governor said that he supports a “categorical” approach to clemency, which could have a “revolutionary” impact on the Garden State.

Murphy said more information about the process – which could apply to “broad categories of individuals” – may be unveiled within the next month or two.

To help nudge the initiative over the finish line, the ACLU-NJ has launched their own campaign: The Clemency Project.

“Reviewing unjust and extreme sentences must be the expectation, not the exception,” ACLU-NJ executive director Amol Sinha said.

“By taking a categorical approach to clemency, hundreds of more people who no longer need to be in prison will be eligible for expedited review – and eventually, release,” Sinha added.

There are two groups of people that the governor should consider, the ACLU-NJ said:

• Incarcerated survivors of domestic violence
• People who are serving sentences impacted by “extreme trial penalties” (because they chose to go to trial instead of accepting plea bargains)

The ACLU-NJ said its attorneys have begun identifying and meeting with currently incarcerated clients who may fit the above categories. Lawyers are also reviewing case files and authoring petitions for release, the nonprofit said.

“Clemency means more than mercy,” senior staff attorney Rebecca Uwakwe insisted.

“Our project is a focused effort to mitigate injustice and it may be the last opportunity for incarcerated people to come home and reconnect with their families and communities,” Uwakwe said.

“In a state with the nation’s highest racial disparities in prisons, this is fundamental to racial justice and repairing the harms of mass incarceration,” Uwakwe added.

• See Related: NJ Prison Population Is Creeping Up After A Decade Of Decline
• See Related: NJ Releases 800 Inmates – And $148 Per Day It Costs To House Them

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