Lesniak Applauds Murphy’s Budget Which Will Change The Culture Of Corrections

Former Senator Raymond Lesniak, a proponent of legislation called Earn Your Way Out, applauded Governor Murphy’s budget proposal which provides $7.8 million for implementation of “the most significant criminal justice reform proposal in America. Earn Your Way Out will change the culture of corrections by emphasizing rehabilitation in the everyday life of inmates and corrections officers.” Lesniak added, “Certainly the culture that plagues the Department of Corrections which allowed the abuse of female inmates at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility needs to be changed.”

“Earn Your Way Out gives inmates an opportunity to become better persons when they leave prison than when they entered by starting reentry plans when entering prison, not just when getting out. Earn Your Way Out offers inmates incentives: one day off an inmate’s sentence for every six days participation in a re-entry plan which will include: education, job training, counseling, and community service, the entire gamut of rehabilitation tools that will help an inmate integrate into society in a manner which will lead to a productive and crime free life,” said Lesniak who thanked Senator Cunningham and Assemblywoman Sumter for leading the charge as its sponsors.