NJ Governor Launches 'Clemency' Plan For Prison Inmates, Parolees

NEWARK, NJ — A new plan to grant “clemency” to prison inmates and parolees who deserve a second chance has officially launched in New Jersey, officials announced Wednesday.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 362 at a holiday news conference at St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, citing the “spirit of Juneteenth,” which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States.

Murphy said his administration will be fast-tracking pardons and commutations for eligible inmates – a move that advocates have been urging him to greenlight over the past year.

The executive order lays out several categories of inmates who will have a shot at an early release from prison:

• Victims of domestic or sexual violence or sex trafficking who are incarcerated for committing a crime against the perpetrator
• People who were given sentences with an “excessive trial penalty”
• People found guilty of certain non-violent convictions if they have “remained free from justice system involvement for a sufficient time”

Some prisoners who may be eligible for expedited review include people who committed crimes before they turned 25 and did not reoffend. Others include people sentenced to long sentences during the “War on Drugs,” the Associated Press reported.

• See Related: It’s Time To Finally End New Jersey’s Drug War, ACLU Says
• See Related: New Jersey Spends $1B Every Year Fighting The Drug War: Report

Current prison inmates aren’t the only ones who can benefit from clemency: it also applies to people on parole or probation, or who have been burdened with unfair criminal records.

The governor’s office has created a website where people can learn more about the plan or apply for clemency online (learn more here).

Rapper Robert “Meek Mill” Williams and activist and entrepreneur Wallace “Wallo267” Peeples – who have both rebounded from stints in the Philadelphia criminal justice system – lent their support to Murphy’s announcement (article continues below).

"Governor Murphy's actions today are bigger than a new program or correcting a handful of injustices," Williams said. "This is an entirely new approach to clemency that is going to cut red tape and restore hope, dignity and opportunity for people unjustly trapped in the system."

Wednesday’s executive order leverages a little-used but powerful clause in New Jersey’s Constitution, which gives the governor broad discretion to issue pardons and commutations for state criminal convictions.

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.

More than 155,000 people are currently incarcerated in prison or jails, or under community supervision through parole or probation in New Jersey.

• See Related: NJ Governor Should Issue More Pardons To Prisoners, Advocates Say

Wednesday's announcement got a big cheer from the ACLU of New Jersey, which has been pushing for the governor's office to start putting the power of clemency to work in the Garden State again through its initiative, The Clemency Project.

"Clemency is about more than mercy – it can be a tool to end mass incarceration," ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha said.

ADVISORY BOARD

This week’s executive order establishes a Clemency Advisory Board, which will review each application and pass on a recommendation to the governor – who has the authority to give it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

According to a statement from Murphy’s office, the Clemency Advisory Board will include a designee of the New Jersey Attorney General and public members with a variety of backgrounds, including attorneys and community advocates.

The inaugural members of the board are:

• Chair – Justin Dews, Counsel at King & Spalding
• Attorney General’s Designee – Michael Zuckerman, Deputy Solicitor General
• Public Member – Jessica Henry, Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University
• Public Member – Bishop Joshua Rodriguez, Bishop and Founding Partner of Cityline Church and Police Chaplin at Jersey City Police Department
• Public Member – JoEllyn Jones, Founding Partner at Jones & Ortiz P.A.
• Public Member – Ed Neafsey, Adjunct Professor at Rutgers Law School-Newark

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