Background

S761/A1986 will provide inmates the support to have a successful reentry into
society. Prior to release, there will be a reentry plan implemented for each inmate with services that will cover medical, psychiatric, psychological, educational, vocational, substance abuse, and social rehabilitative services shall be incorporated into a comprehensive reentry plan. With clear expectations of them and the legal system, these rehabilitation programs will help aid the wellbeing of each inmate as they renter society. This bill also provides that parole terms be reduced by parole compliance credits at a rate of five days for each month the person is in compliance with the conditions of parole, and has not committed a serious or persistent infraction.

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Why Advocate

S761/A1986 turns incarceration into opportunity for people who feel that they have had no choice other than resorting to crime to survive. This system provides inmates a second chance at earning a life as a healthy law-abiding citizen. Earn Your Way Out will finally allow people to receive the help and services needed to keep them from falling into a life of crime. It will educate people on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and give them alternative ways to survive without crime.

Background

The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act (S3261/A314) will limit the use of isolated confinement in correctional facilities in NJ. This bill demands livable conditions while in confinement and allows inmates to not only contest their confinement, but puts a limit on the number of days they can spend there.

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Why Advocate

Numerous studies have documented the harmful psychological effects of long-term solitary confinement, which can produce debilitating symptoms. The point of incarceration is to reform and release. The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act is holding state prisons accountable for harming inmates with isolation rather than reforming them. Sentencing people in prison to long-term isolated confinement is sentencing them to leave prison in worse health than they entered. This increases their chances of being rearrested and limiting their ability to exist in society.