NJ Spotlight’s Colleen O’Dea reports
Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday he is “looking at” the possibility of releasing some state prison inmates to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the system that houses some 19,000 individuals, eight of whom — including three in halfway houses — have now tested positive for the virus.
New Jersey was among the early states and localities to release incarcerated individuals — letting close to 700 people temporarily leave county jails as guards and inmates began testing positive for the virus. But there has been no movement to release any of the 16,000 individuals in state prisons and youth facilities where they would be captive to a COVID-19 outbreak, nor the roughly 2,600 in halfway houses.