The ‘Public Health Emergency Credits’ law gives 122 days of credit for every month served during a public health emergency
Hundreds of inmates in New Jersey prisons were released early over the weekend as part of a program to alleviate crowding in correctional facilities in the relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 852 prisoners were granted early release as part of the “Public Health Emergency Credits” law enacted in October 2020, which gives certain prisoners credit for 122 days for each month served during a public health emergency.
More than 6,000 inmates have been released thus far. On Feb. 10, the state Department of Corrections released 262 inmates.
The shorter prison sentences don’t apply to everyone. First, an eligible inmate must be within 365 days of their scheduled crease date to qualify.
Those convicted of sex crimes or convicted of violent crimes such as murder are not eligible.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said the legislation was a much-needed way to combat COVID-19 and reduce the prison population. The law has the support of criminal justice advocates and some Democrats, including former Gov. Jim McGreevey, now the executive director of the New Jersey Reentry Services Corporation, which provides employment services to inmates.
The state’s prison population decreased by 40% during the first 11 months after he signed the measure into law.
“At its heart, the public health emergency credits law is not a pandemic policy,” the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said in a Monday news release. “It’s a policy about humanity.”
Not everyone agrees. The New Jersey Law Enforcement Supervisors Association, the union that represents correctional officers in the state, said the law doesn’t make sense since there were low amounts of viral transmission of COVID in prisons.
