Thousands of Inmates Released Under Public Health Emergency Credit Law
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey released a statement this week that on Sunday a total of 852 people were released from New Jersey prisons and jails under the Public Health Emergency Credit Law.
The New Jersey Department of Corrections anticipates another 870 people are expected to be released over the next several months.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed the PHECL into law in October 2020 to allow people nearing the end of their release date to leave prison up to eight months early to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
The credit law works by allowing inmates who are within 365 days of their scheduled release to accrue credits during the public health emergency for time served that can result in slashing 244 days off their prison sentence.
When the law went into effect, New Jersey had the nation’s highest COVID-19 death rate in prisons, according to the ACLU-NJ statement.
Since the law went into effect, more than 6,600 people have been released early from New Jersey prisons and jails. Current figures show a 42% reduction in New Jersey’s prison population since March 2020.
According to Gothamist reporting, nearly one in 10 prisoners re-offended after their release under the program last year, with three of the men accused in the killings of five people.
The public health emergency in New Jersey expired on March 7, but any inmates who earned credits in the last two months are still eligible for an early release over the next few months.
Alexa can be reached at [email protected]
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