Sentencing panel targets mandatory minimum sentences and geriatric parole

In a new report, the New Jersey Commission on Criminal Sentencing and Parole recommended four reforms to make sentencing fairer and reduce racial disparities behind bars. (Andrew Burton | Getty Images)

A state panel is urging state lawmakers to pass a stalled bill that would reduce New Jersey’s prison population by, among other things, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and giving older, long-incarcerated people a path to release.

New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disgorgement Commission sent a letter On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders were told the four proposals his 13 members unanimously approved would provide “a more rational, fair and proportionate sentencing system.”

They recommended:

• Allowing judges to reduce or waive fines and other fees imposed on defendants who cannot afford to pay.

• Allowing judges to consider any abuse an offender has suffered at the hands of their victim as a mitigating factor when considering an appropriate sentence meant this change was largely aimed at domestic violence cases.

• Providing detained persons over the age of 60 (or 62 in murder cases) who have served long sentences (30 years for murder, 20 years for other crimes) the opportunity to appeal to a judge unless their sentences are reduced is a threat to society and indicates readiness for re-entry into society.

• Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes.

Former state attorney general Christopher Porrino, who has chaired the commission since January, said the proposed changes would “untie judges’ hands” and give them more discretion in sentencing.

“That’s really what these proposals are about, to try to be practical and fair and to address some of these historic racial inequities,” Porrino said.

in New Jersey prisons The worst racial disparities in the countryAlthough only 15% of the state’s population is Black, a Black adult here is 12 times more likely to be incarcerated than a white adult.

None of the proposed changes are new.

The commission proposed eliminating mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders in 2019. Governor Phil Murphy in 2021 conditionally vetoed A bill that would do that builds on an amendment a Democrat added to protect public corruption offenders. Legislators introduced another similar law There was no progress in either chamber in June.

efforts to create “geriatric parole” — something the sentencing commission has also long lobbied for — has failed to gain sufficient support in the State Legislature since at least 2019. final invoice It has stalled since it was first introduced in the Senate in January.

And a bill The bill, which addresses domestic violence cases and would allow judges to consider past abuse as a mitigating factor when sentencing defendants who survive the abuse of their victims, has no friends in the Senate and has not moved since it was introduced to the House in September. The commission also unsuccessfully pushed for this change in its annual report to MPs last year.

Reducing crippling fines and fees has long been a challenge for the court system, which is largely updated on a regular basis. “Action plan to ensure equal justice.”

The system eliminates fees for minor municipal cases for teenagers and seniors, and last year, empty More than $7 million in unpaid probation supervision fees was imposed, citing concerns about racial disparities and the barriers the fees pose to rehabilitation and reentry. Court officials also announced in September that they would reduce fines and penalties for people who successfully graduate from recovery court or otherwise participate in addiction treatment, education or vocational service programs.

Excessive fees and the debt they cause threaten successful reentry, Porrino wrote in his letter to lawmakers. Courts collect only a fraction of the fines and fees imposed by judges and spend nearly as much money collecting them as they do, he added.

Judiciary spokesman Pete McAleer applauded the commission’s review of fines and fees.

“Discretionary fines disproportionately impact people of color and those experiencing poverty, only prolonging their interaction with the justice system,” McAleer said.

But New Jersey lawmakers have been reluctant to accept the proposed changes. Instead, they turned to a new national practice. “Fighting crime” trend and introduced bill critics I warned could undo the progress of prison reform.

Still, Porrino said he was optimistic they would act on the recommendations the commission made this week, saying they were about “being smart and practical” rather than being soft on crime.

“None of these proposed reforms are a get-out-of-jail-free card. What they do is left in the hands of the judges whom the Legislature approves and whom the governor nominates; “Anyone who approaches this issue with an open mind and is not content to just play politics cannot oppose these four proposed reforms.”

He added that it also makes “economic sense” not to incarcerate someone who doesn’t need to be incarcerated. The cost of incarcerating a person in New Jersey averages $74,750 a year, according to state budget documents.

Murphy spokeswoman Maggie Garbarino said the commission’s work is consistent with the governor’s goal of creating a stronger, fairer and more equitable state.

“Governor Murphy continues to support the Commission on Criminal Sentencing and Parole’s important mission to ensure that our criminal justice system and sentencing laws are fair and equitable by building consensus for reforms,” Garbarino said. “The Governor welcomes the recommendations in the Commission’s most recent report and looks forward to working with the Legislature on these issues.”

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