NJ Lawmaker Wants To Loosen Parole Rules For Prison Inmates

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — “My son is more than the worst chapter of his life.” This was the plea from New Jersey Assemblywoman Shanique Speight as she pushed for more lenient prison parole rules at a hearing in Trenton.

Last week, the Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 with an abstention to advance a bill that would change how parole works in New Jersey.

The proposed law would make it easier for people with non-violent convictions to get an early release from prison. The legislation would also limit when some people can be sent back to prison for minor parole infractions.

To deny someone parole, officials would have to show there is a “substantial likelihood” that the person will commit another crime, or that they have refused to participate in their own rehabilitation.

The bill, A-5311, still needs approval from the full Assembly, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate before it reaches the governor’s desk.

Speight, a Democrat from the 29^th district who also works as an officer in the Essex County Sheriff's Office, is among those supporting the proposed law.

The lawmakers said her work on the bill began before her son’s involvement with the criminal justice system. But now, it has taken on a new meaning, she said.

Although Speight didn’t elaborate on the specifics of her son’s experience, she said it has given her a firsthand look at the challenges people face when they’re trying to get their lives back on track.

“I am before you as a woman who wears many hats,” Speight told her peers at the Oct. 15 hearing. “I’m a legislator. I am a law enforcement officer. I’m a first lady of a church. And above any of those titles, I am a mother.”

“Incarceration doesn’t just affect the person serving time,” she continued. “It affects the entire family: the missed birthdays, the empty seats at the dinner table, the financial struggles, the emotional burdens and the uncertainty. And when somebody comes home, the journey doesn’t automatically become easy. They still must find employment… rebuild relationships… follow supervision requirements… work towards stability.”

“For clarity, I don’t want anything for my son that I wouldn’t want for someone else’s child,” Speight said. “I don’t want special treatment. I don’t want anybody to overlook wrongdoing. And I certainly don’t believe that accountability should disappear.”

“But I do believe that people can change,” she added. “I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in redemption. I believe that somebody has demonstrated growth, follow the rules, and work to rebuild their lives, that progress should mean something.”

“My son is more than the worst chapter of his life,” she insisted. “And somebody else’s child is too.”

Speight wasn’t the only one who testified in support of the bill.

Several advocates, service providers and people with personal experience in the criminal justice system spoke in favor of the proposed law, including REFORM Alliance CEO Jessica Jackson, Edwin “Chino” Ortiz of the Returning Citizens Support Group, Joseph Russo of the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, John Butler of the ACLU of New Jersey and Kathy Waters of the Urban League of Union County. Other organizations submitted written statements of support for the bill.

According to nonprofit advocacy group REFORM Alliance, New Jersey incarcerates about 1,100 people on any given day for non-criminal parole violations – at an annual cost of about $90 million.

The average time served in state prison for such a violation is more than 14 months, the group said.

Jackson, a mother of four, said the group has gotten more than 2,500 signatures on an online petition in support of the bill, including about 75 percent from women over 40.

“I believe deeply in public safety,” Jackson said. “I want my children to grow up in safe communities. And I want a justice system that holds people accountable, while addressing the underlying problems that contribute to crime.”

“I’m not the only mom who feels this way,” she said.

• Related: NJ Prison Inmates Are Committing Fewer New Crimes After Their Release
• Related: Sending NJ Parole Violators Back To Jail Isn’t Cheap, Report Says
• Related: Violent Crime Has Been Dropping In New Jersey For Decades, FBI Data Shows

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