🚨 URGENT CTA: Prison Policies & Pandemic, Perfect Together?
Email, Phone State Legislators About Gov. Murphy's Covid-19 Prison Policies and Executive Orders.
Recent media reports have highlighted how Governor Phil Murphy has used the Covid emergency to release incarcerated individuals via a public health credit system while simultaneously applying pressure to the staffing capacity of New Jersey prisons by including guards in Executive Order 283.
The order mandates that health care workers and workers in congregate settings (including prisons) stay up-to-date on vaccinations for Covid-19, a criteria established and determined by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) An order issued by Gov. Murphy in August 2021 provided for unvaccinated individuals to submit to regular Covid-19 testing as an alternative to accepting vaccination. It should also be noted that there were no previous orders in place to compel workers in the named settings to accept boosters.
Read the full text of EO 283 here.
The New Jersey Police Benevolent Association, the state’s largest police union, filed a restraining order in an attempt to stop the enforcement of the mandate shortly after Gov. Murphy announced it in mid-January 2022. A panel of NJ Appellate Division judges later dismissed the challenge on February 11, 2022. Most recently the New Jersey Supreme Court - the highest court in the NJ Court system - likewise refused to stay the governor’s order by rejecting a last minute review of the appellate panel’s decision.
While many in the State of New Jersey agree that criminal justice reform is something that needs attention, the Murphy administration has again abused emergency authority vested in the Executive Branch of state government. By minimizing participation of the Legislative Branch in operationalizing these changes to the administration of Justice, Gov. Murphy has again silenced the voice of New Jerseyans. His willful and blatant contempt of the democratic process must be challenged by calling it out for what it is: a forfeit of the public trust (if there was any remaining.) Through circumventing the normal means for enacting public policy by stifling civil discourse and negating the function of the NJ Legislature, the governor reveals his distain for the People of this State and the law of the land.
Since the NJ Courts have failed to intervene, initial repercussions of failing to abide by the mandate could lead to the firing of prison guards, health care personnel and other critical public servants starting February 17. Tell members of the NJ Legislature that this is unacceptable.
Contact information for NJ Senate and General Assembly can be found here.
Sample text:
February 16, 2022
Senators, Assemblymen, and Assemblywomen:
While Governor Murphy purports to be making Covid-19 related decisions based on public safety, he appears to be talking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to the NJ prison system. As you know, today is the deadline to present proof of Covid-19 vaccination for workers who are subject to EO 283. Media reports indicate that more than half of NJ prison guards who are included in the class of workers named in EO 283, have chosen to not accept initial Covid-19 vaccines. Since the order mandates boosters, many more prison guards will soon be out of compliance by the end of March unless coerced into an additional shot.
Recent media coverage indicates that Governor Murphy and the NJ Department of Corrections are continuing to release prisoners via the public health emergency credit system. This use of executive authority to circumvent normal policies, procedures, and sentences issued by NJ courts presents a grave concern. When you compound prisoner release with the ramifications of EO 283, the impact on public safety is undeniable.
The public trust is broken. Governor Murphy's continued overreach may be legally defended by strategic construction of the law in the hands of his counsel, but New Jerseyans can see what he's doing. This use of emergency power has afforded the Executive Branch an opportunity to apply what Wall Street big shots like Gov. Murphy call a “forcing function” on aspects of New Jersey's criminal justice system. If the Murphy administration wishes to reform the system they should work with the legislature, open the debate on policy positions and enact laws. This ensures the public can be involved in some way before becoming victims of criminal offenses committed by those released from prison with the stroke of Gov. Murphy's pen. We refuse to let progressive policy turn us into the next cautionary tale alongside California and New York.
With disappointment,
<your name here>