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MEDIA ADVISORY – Lesniak And Cunningham To Hold News Conference On Criminal Justice Reform Monday

A view of the Senate Chambers from the 2010-2011 Senate Reorganization.
News & Releases Sandra Cunningham

Comprehensive Package Would Save Tax Dollars and Reduce Repeat Offenses

TRENTON – On Monday, Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Sandra Bolden Cunningham and criminal justice advocates will hold a news conference in the Statehouse to announce a comprehensive package of bills sponsored by the Senators to create a pathway to reform of New Jersey’s criminal justice system and rehabilitation for criminal offenders.

“We have to honest about our current criminal justice system – it just doesn’t work when it comes to stopping repeated criminal acts,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “The current system of incarceration and release from prison serves to breed more crime, while marginalizing offenders and denying them a second chance at being productive, law-abiding citizens. These four bills address the failings of the current criminal justice system, and will make our corrections budget smarter, so that we’re actually helping people make amends, turn the corner, and get on with their lives without going back, as is too often the case under our current policies.”

Last week, Senators Lesniak and Cunningham introduced a package of bills to address the parole and corrections systems in New Jersey. Among the bills that the Senators introduced are:

• S-907 – a bill which would require the State Parole Board to release offenders at the time of parole eligibility, unless the offender has committed a serious disciplinary infraction while incarcerated or has not participated in rehabilitation programs offered in prison;

• S-881 – a bill which amends the existing statute to give judges and prosecutors additional discretion to admit certain offenders into a “drug court” program to emphasize substance abuse treatment over incarceration;

• S-876 – a bill which amends the liquor licensing law to allow licensees to employ ex-offenders without a special permit. Currently, licensees have to get the permission of the State to employ ex-offenders;

• S-878 – a bill which would prohibit public and private employers from automatically disqualifying ex-offenders from employment.

The bill sponsors said that package of bills is designed to encourage drug treatment and rehabilitation and remove counterproductive barriers to employment of ex-offenders.

Supporting these bills are (partial list): Integrity House; The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence; The Drug Policy Alliance; The NJ Association on Correction; Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow; Judge Barnett Hoffman, former Chair, NJ Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing and President, Middlesex County Adult Substance Abuse Program; Pastor Keith Davis, Camden Dream Center; and Pastor Steffie Bartley New Hope Memorial Baptist Church, Elizabeth.

The news conference will be held in Statehouse room 103, across from the Senate Chambers at 11:00 A.M. on Monday morning.

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Lesniak And Cunningham Announce Efforts To Reform Criminal Justice System In New Jersey

TRENTON – At a news conference at the Statehouse today, Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Sandra Bolden Cunningham and criminal justice advocates announced the introduction of a comprehensive package of bills sponsored by the Senators to create a pathway to reform of New Jersey’s criminal justice system and rehabilitation for criminal offenders.

“As a nation that imprisons more of its residents per capita than any country in the world, we should continually evaluate our penal justice system to determine if our current policies provide protection for the safety of our residents and are cost-effective, or if changes are needed,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “The four bills we are announcing today are designed to reduce waste and inefficiency in our criminal justice system and redirect resources to better protect the public by reducing repeat offenses. We have asked that these bills be moved in both houses prior to the budget break, so we can get on with changing our criminal justice system to make it more cost effective and to provide better safety to our residents.”

“This is a matter of fairness and fiscal sense for nonviolent offenders currently serving in the criminal justice system, and a matter of public safety for the rest of the State of New Jersey,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Hudson. “Under the current system, nonviolent offenders are warehoused with violent offenders, and often learn to become better criminals, rather than receive treatment for substance abuse that they so desperately need. These four bills will ensure that we direct our corrections spending to make a difference in the lives of nonviolent offenders, and that we ensure access to a job and the opportunity to support themselves upon release.”

23 Jan 2012