Justice Advocates Thank Governor Murphy For Executive Order Releasing State Prisoners During COVID-19 Outbreak

On Friday, Governor Phil Murphy announced an executive order to temporarily release prisoners from state prisons in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in correctional facilities. Social justice advocates applauded the governor’s order and encouraged him to oversee its implementation as quickly and inclusively as possible.

“Today Governor Murphy demonstrated his commitment, yet again, to breaking the back of this pandemic and protecting our state’s most vulnerable populations,” says Rev. Charles Boyer, pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church and executive director of Salvation and Social Justice. “Releasing elderly and chronically ill people from our prisons is necessary not only as a public health intervention, but also a huge step in the direction of racial justice.”

New Jersey’s state prison population is disproportionately comprised of people from Black and Latinx communities, and the Black-to-white criminal sentencing rate is the highest in the country. Moreover, people in prison are uniquely susceptible to viral outbreaks, largely due to restricted access to sanitation and medical care, limitations on social distancing, and their higher rates of preexisting chronic conditions and infectious diseases.

New Jersey, whose total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is the second highest in the country, is taking urgent preventative measures, but advocates and families remain deeply concerned about their friends and loved ones who live and work inside prisons.

“We have always known that any prison sentence can ultimately become a death sentence,” says Gale Muhammad, president and founder of Women (and Men) Who Never Give Up, Inc. (WWNG). “Our worst nightmare has become true for our incarcerated loved ones now that this crisis has hit pandemic levels in New Jersey.”

Bonnie Kerness, director of the Prison Watch Program of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), says that Governor Murphy’s executive order is a necessary measure, but it must be implemented with integrity. “Reducing the state prison population by means consistent with public safety places New Jersey in the lead nationally in handing this crisis. We are encouraging the Department of Corrections to enhance and continue to expand their response, by providing testing, provision of PPEs and medical care to both staff and people inside. And according to many sources, this is simply not happening at present.”

In the Governor’s press briefing Department of Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks maintained that the prisons are doing everything possible to maintain sanitation, restrict visitations, and improve access to protective equipment, but direct testimony from prisoners, their families, and workers inside state prisons contend otherwise.

“We routinely receive communication from people on the inside—prisoners, nurses, and staff—that tell us the truth about the horrific conditions of confinement during this health crisis,” says NJ-CAIC organizer Marshall “Justice” Rountree. “We applaud the Governor and the Commissioner for their strong words, and we are closely monitoring their actions. Today is a big step, but, as we stated in our open letter, there are currently major gaps in what is being said and what is being done to ensure the safety of all people in these facilities.”

The New Jersey Campaign for Isolated Confinement, whose members include Salvation and Social Justice, AFSC, WWNG, and others, recently submitted an open letter to Governor Murphy, detailing the best practices for preventing unparalleled COVID-19 casualties in New Jersey prisons. Many of those recommendations were addressed by the governor’s order. And while the executive action is ensuring the temporary release of certain categories of prisoners, advocates are hopeful that this is also a step toward permanent reduction in an unnecessarily large prison system.

According to Rev. Boyer, “Governor Murphy and Commissioner Hicks have done the right thing, but there is still a long way to go before we celebrate. It is imperative that New Jersey liberate all those shackled as a result of the drug war. We also remain committed to advocate for all people serving unjustly long sentences regardless of the crimes they have committed, particularly those sentenced while youth. We will not stop until furlough turns to freedom.”