New Jersey Took a Big Step Toward Eliminating Public Defender Fees. But Some Costs Remain.
Advocates say there is more work to be done to ensure public defenders don’t come with a price tag.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 22, 2023
As Anti-Trans Bills Target Prisoners, Some Warn of a ‘Canary in the Coal Mine’
Legislation targeting transgender people behind bars is part of a much broader campaign against LGBTQ rights. Advocates say the measures could preview future attacks by the anti-trans movement.
Adam M. Rhodes Aug 17, 2023
East Coast Wildfires Put Incarcerated People on Frontlines of Climate Crisis
More than 150 detention facilities experienced “hazardous” air last week, according to an analysis by The Appeal. As wildfires have gotten worse, prisoners are facing a unique threat.
Alleen Brown Jun 13, 2023
Trans Women Report Self-Harm At New Jersey Men’s Prison
A trans woman mutilated herself in a New Jersey men’s prison after officials refused to transfer her to a women’s facility.
Adam M. Rhodes Apr 19, 2023
New Jersey Prison Staff Pushing Incarcerated People to Fight, Complaints Allege
The alleged “fight club” is one of many issues people say plague South Woods State Prison’s “Restorative Housing Unit,” a disciplinary wing that advocates call solitary confinement by another name.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 09, 2023
New Jersey Rolls Back Protections for Trans Prisoners
After a wave of tabloid coverage about pregnancies involving a trans prisoner at a women’s facility, officials gave themselves more power to deny housing placements consistent with gender identity.
Adam M. Rhodes Jan 17, 2023
Bail Reform Helps Countless People. Why Don’t We Hear More of Their Stories?
Personal narratives can help the public understand the benefits of bail reform, but telling these success stories presents its own share of challenges.
Bryce Covert Jul 19, 2022
A Judge Finally Called BS on ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’
In January, a New Jersey judge said Shaken Baby Syndrome is “akin to junk science.”
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 04, 2022
A New Jersey Woman Claimed Innocence In ‘Shaken Baby’ Death. Now Her Conviction May Get Another Look.
Spurred by an Appeal investigation into Michelle Heale’s controversial 2015 case, a law professor is asking New Jersey’s Conviction Review Unit to “correct an injustice” and set Heale free.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 15, 2022
People Are Being Tortured Inside New Jersey’s Prisons
Inside New Jersey’s Bayside State Prison, corrections officer John Makos allegedly tortured incarcerated kitchen workers. In one incident, he approximated a “crucifixion” by handcuffing his victim’s outstretched arms to fences and doors, then beat him, according to a criminal complaint issued by the Department of Justice last month.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 19, 2021
‘It Tears Families Apart’: Lawmakers Nationwide Are Moving to End Mandatory Sentencing
Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 15, 2021
New Jersey Could Force Cuomo’s Hand on Pot Legalization
The New York governor has released a plan to legalize marijuana, months after voters in the Garden State approved legalization in November. Advocates say the pressure could have ripple effects regionally.
Joshua Vaughn Jan 26, 2021
Families Urge Cuomo to Release Loved Ones from Prison During COVID-19 Pandemic
In addition to the releases he has already ordered, the New York governor can grant commutations to free more incarcerated people to protect them from the disease. He has issued only three since the pandemic began.
Alana Sivin, Joshua Vaughn Nov 25, 2020
New York Watchdogs Lack Data to Track Judges’ Compliance With Bail Reform
Although the new law took effect in January, state data showing how courts are applying it won’t be available until July 2021. And without funding, courts in small towns and villages may never collect the data.
Steven Yoder Sep 09, 2020
New Jersey COVID-19 Bill Could Help Reduce The Harshness Of The Criminal System
If the bill is signed into law later this month, about 20 percent of the state’s prison population could see their sentences reduced to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, including some people who have served lengthy sentences for violent crimes.
Ellison Berryhill Aug 10, 2020
Schools Are Closed, Our Children Are Unravelling, and Our Elected Leaders Are Failing Us
Public schools have long needed more funding to keep the bodies and minds of teachers, staff, and students safe. But these are not the investments our elected officials choose to make.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 16, 2020
The Camden Police Department Is Not A Model For Policing In The Post-George Floyd Era
The New Jersey department received slavish media praise after it was disbanded and reoriented toward community policing. But behind the reformist mask was an embrace of surveillance and broken windows policing.
Brendan McQuade Jun 12, 2020
Obscure New Jersey ‘Treatment’ Facility Has A Higher COVID-19 Death Rate Than Any Prison In The Country
The detainees already completed their criminal sentences—but they are prevented from leaving for years. And with the coronavirus spreading, their lives are at risk.
Jordan Michael Smith Jun 04, 2020
Hospitalized With COVID-19 and Handcuffed for Days
After a man incarcerated in a New Jersey state prison was hospitalized with COVID-19, he said he was handcuffed for 36 hours. The cuffs got tangled in his IV, causing it to rip out, he said. “It was so painful. You have no idea.”
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 05, 2020
Coronavirus Is Ready To Explode Inside Fort Dix Federal Prison, Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones Say
One prisoner says a man collapsed while waiting for a temperature check and was sprayed down with disinfectant as he lay on the floor. BOP denied it.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 23, 2020
To Prevent Coronavirus Spread, New Jersey Authorizes Major Jail Release
Up to 1,000 people will have their sentences delayed or suspended.
Kira Lerner Mar 23, 2020
Sheriff’s Office Profiles New Jersey Student After School Shooting Thousands of Miles Away, Lawsuit Says
The student, whose last name is Mohammed, was subject to improper searches based on little evidence, his attorney argues.
Roxanna Asgarian Mar 09, 2020
Crashes, Injuries, Deaths: The Dangers of Police Chases
Two recent investigations look at how, in the name of fighting crime, police departments engage in dangerous, often fatal, vehicle pursuits
Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 17, 2020
New Jersey Takes On Vestige Of Three-Fifths Clause: Prison Gerrymandering
The most productive solution would be to allow prisoners and formerly incarcerated people to vote, but until that happens, the least we can do is stop giving their voting power to the towns that profit from their imprisonment.
Sarah Lustbader Jan 16, 2020
How Dubious Science Helped Put A New Jersey Woman In Prison For Killing A Baby In Her Care
The state said Michelle Heale shook the baby to death, but some experts say her conviction was based on debunked science.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 15, 2020
Protecting Campus Police
The New Jersey General Assembly unanimously passed a bill to extend qualified immunity to police officers at private colleges and universities.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 02, 2019
Drug Treatment Is Reaching More Prisons and Jails
Recent legal victories have spurred counties and states to provide medication-assisted treatment to prisoners struggling with substance use.
JB Nicholas Jul 31, 2019
Spotlight: Supporting Solitary for Manafort Means Supporting It for Everyone
Yesterday the news broke that Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign head who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on federal charges, will now face criminal charges in state court in Manhattan. The New York Times reports that Manafort will most likely be held at Rikers Island, segregated from the general population. […]
Vaidya Gullapalli Jun 05, 2019
New Jersey Governor-Elect Promising Bold Criminal Justice Reform Agenda
The landslide election of Phil Murphy to be the new governor of New Jersey is likely to put the Garden State at the forefront of criminal justice reforms in the United States.
Larry Hannan Nov 09, 2017
New Jersey Governor-Elect Promising Bold Criminal Justice Reform Agenda
Phil Murphy has promised marijuana legalization, end of cash bail and will look at ending minimum mandatory sentences
Larry Hannan Nov 09, 2017
The “Humble Beginnings” of the Sweeping Bail Reforms Enacted by New Jersey
New Jersey has become a national leader in criminal justice reform, particularly around the hot button issue of requiring cash bail. When it passed the Bail Reform and Speedy Trial Act last year, it became one of only three locations in the United States that have virtually eliminated bail as a condition for release when someone is charged with a crime. Yet the state literally stumbled into these efforts, almost by accident, in 2012.
Bryce Covert Oct 30, 2017
County attorney drops eight criminal cases due to an illegal search by New Jersey cops
The officers’ credibility is under fire.
Carimah Townes Aug 28, 2017