Proposal would cost $40M over two years, funded by shifting 2 percent of corrections department's $1B budget
Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) gestures during a press conference at the Statehouse this morning as he unveils a bill he is sponsoring with Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (center) for the 'Earn Your Way Out' program. Also shown at right is former Gov. James E. McGreevey. 'Earn Your Way Out' is a program designed for prison inmate addicts to reduce their sentences by 2 years by means of taking a voluntary, active role in their recovery while in prison.TRENTON — State Sen. Raymond Lesniak wants to get more nonviolent drug offenders out of prison and into treatment programs.
Under his proposal, inmates diagnosed with addiction problems could complete a six-month prison education program to cut their sentence by two years. They would then undergo two years of treatment, followed by three years of parole supervision. By allowing 1,000 inmates to reduce their prison sentences, the Department of Corrections would be able to close a prison wing, Lesniak said.
The proposal would cost $40 million over two years, funded by shifting 2 percent of the corrections department’s $1 billion budget. But in the long run, Lesniak said, it would save money by keeping fewer people behind bars.
"It’s time to start winning the war on drugs," Lesniak (D-Union) said at a Statehouse press conference today.
Lesniak, who previously championed the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses in school zones, was joined yesterday by religious leaders, recovering addicts and former Gov. James McGreevey, who made a rare appearance in Trenton to support the measure.
"I thought I was finished with this," McGreevey joked as he stepped to the Statehouse podium, something he hasn’t done since leaving office in 2004. McGreevey has worked on prisoner rehabilitation programs in recent years and introduced graduates of Integrity House’s drug treatment program.
Supporters said Lesniak’s proposal was not designed as a shortcut to early release.
"This is not easy," said David Kerr, who runs the Integrity House treatment program in Newark. "These efforts have to be made not by us, but by the inmate addict."
Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), who is sponsoring the legislation in the Assembly, said incarceration alone doesn’t help offenders lead better lives.
"We need to get at the cause as well as the symptoms," she said. "We will be able to restore people who have been part of the criminal justice system."
Trent Norman, president of Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 105, which represents corrections officers, supports new programs for inmates, but said he is concerned any shift in funds could jeopardize security. He said officials should be careful to only allow in offenders truly suffering from addiction.
"You have to be real careful when you implement these programs," Norman said. "You have people who want to get into the program just to get out early."
Ed Martone, public education director at New Jersey Association on Correction, said Lesniak’s proposal to let offenders out earlier may be a tough sell but is the right thing to do.
"The public is ready for it," he said. "We’ve spent 30 years of just locking them up and not doing a lot to rehabilitate people."