By Brooklyn White ·November 11, 2020November 11, 2020
On November 4, more than 2,200 eligible prisoners in New Jersey prisons have been released in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
A new law passed in September, stating that inmates who were within one year of completing their sentence could be released due to public health concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as one such crisis and an additional 1,100+ people will be released between now and March 4, 2021, CNN reports. According to Patch, after the mass release on November 4, the state’s prison population was projected to reduce by 13%.
Those who are serving sentences for violent crimes, such as murder or aggravated sexual assault, will not be able to released early. Additionally, repeated sex offenders will remained incarcerated.
One point worth noting is that certain inmates not actually getting to go home and being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers instead.
A spokesperson for ICE in Newark released a statement to Patch on those apprehended, saying, “All are violent offenders or have convictions for serious crimes such as homicide, aggravated assault, drug trafficking and child sexual exploitation.” Some inmates are being detained in New Jersey, while others have already been moved to out-of-state ICE quarters.
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