In an unprecedented move prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey will begin this week releasing certain inmates from county jails under a consent order issued late Sunday night.
Citing the “profound risk posed to people in correctional facilities arising from the spread of COVID-19,” the state Supreme Court issued the emergency order directing the release of inmates serving jail time as a result of a probation sentence or municipal court conviction.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey estimates the emergency measure would affect up to 1,000 people currently locked up in New Jersey jails.
The move does not affect inmates being held while awaiting trial, who make up the majority of the state’s jail population.
“We’re in the middle of a public health emergency, and we recognize that for some lower-level, non-violent offenders, it may be safer to temporarily release these individuals to their homes than to keep them detained in a county jail,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said last week when the court began considering the move.
The pending release comes amid alarming reports of conditions in jails and prisons unable to practice the type of social distancing and hygiene guidance medical professionals recommend. Corrections officers in Bergen and Morris counties have already tested positive for the illness.
Probation sentences include people who were ordered jailed for violating probation, or were given less than a year in jail for their offense rather than a prison sentence.
Some common municipal court violations that result in jail time include drunken driving, simple assault or shoplifting. The Supreme Court’s order says that no-contact orders to keep offenders away from their victims and license suspensions will remain in effect during the release.
A judge will decide after the end of the state’s public health emergency declaration whether to send people back to jail or sentence them to time served.
Prosecutors have until the end of Monday to file objections to the release of any specific individual who qualifies for release, which will then be heard by a judge. Prosecutors have also been directed to notify any crime victims of the early release.
Joseph Krakora, the state public defender, said in a phone interview Monday that he hoped prosecutors would not object to the release of many of the detainees who qualify.
“They’re all doing less than a year for relatively minor offenses,” said Krakora, whose office first petitioned the court for the release of inmates. “The restrictions on the citizens’ access to public places really makes the risk even less of a concern.”
All released inmates will get literature explaining the social distancing practices and stay-at-home guidelines established in Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order, as well as “sanitary and hygiene practices that limit the spread of COVID-19.”
The consent order was agreed to by the state public defender and the attorney general, as well as the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey and the ACLU.
Read the order here:
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