Former N.J. Supreme Court Justice Deborah Poritz/courtesy photo

A half dozen bills aimed at reducing sentencing guidelines for nonviolent offenders and implementing recommendations made by a major criminal justice reform commission chaired by a former chief justice were introduced on Wednesday by a pair of Democratic lawmakers.

The bipartisan Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission was created in 2009 by the New Jersey Legislature to conduct a thorough review of the state's criminal sentencing provisions and consider recommendations to reform the laws governing the criminal justice system. It was chaired by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Deborah Poritz.

Gov. Phil Murphy commissioned the committee last year to come up with additional reforms to reduce the racial disparity in the state's current prison population, prevent recividism and produce savings.

Among the committee's nine core recommendations, made public last Nov. 14, was the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses and nonviolent property crimes.

One of the bills unveiled, S-2586, is sponsored by Sen. Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson, who was a member of the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission, and addresses that issue directly. S-2586 would also reduce mandatory minimum sentences for second-degree robbery and burglary.

"Meaningful sentencing reform is long overdue. If we are ever going to reverse the harmful effects of mass incarceration we must move away from doling out lengthy sentences for minor offenses and this legislation is the first step towards realizing that goal," said Cunningham in a release. "By removing mandatory minimums on non-violent offenses we can return the discretionary power back to our judges and allow them to issue sentences based on what is truly in the best interest of the individual and our society."

Cunnigham is prime sponsor of three other bills rolled out on Wednesday:

• S-2593 would authorize the Administrative Office of the Courts to retroactively rescind the mandatory minimum period of parole ineligibility for inmates who committed nonviolent drug offenses or nonviolent property crimes.

• S-2594 would establish a compassionate release program for inmates suffering from a grave medical condition, terminal illness or permanent physical incapacity.

• S-2595 would require a study be performed to determine the cost savings of the compassionate release program and the elimination of mandatory minimums. Any cost savings would go toward the "Corrections Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention Fund" to support recidivism reduction programs.

Murphy has consistently remarked how criminal justice reform is a key mandate of his administration and has highlighted the racial gap.

The issue of racial disparities in the justice system came up in a different context recently when Murphy announced his Supreme Court nominee, Fabiana Pierre-Louis, on June 5. If confirmed by the 40-member Senate, Pierre-Louis would become the first African American woman to serve on the state's highest court and only its third black jurist ever. "I have not chosen Fabiana because of the current national discussion around race and systemic bias that is unfolding before our very eyes," Murphy said of the nomination announcement. "However, given the challenges which are being brought to the forefront of our society … —core issues of socioeconomic equality and equity—there is no better meeting of an individual and the times."

Pierre-Louis' nomination was announced amid a week of racial turbulence throughout the country over the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, an African American, in the custody of a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis. Video of Floyd's arrest spurred protests for racial justice in several major U.S. cities, while his death has instigated calls for dramatic police reforms.

Sen. Nellie Pou, D-Passaic, prime sponsor of two sentencing reform bills, said in a statement: "At a time when men, women and children have flooded the streets, not only in America but across the globe, to demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others, the need for structural change to the criminal justice system could not be clearer."

Taylor, a black woman, died at the hands of police during the execution of a no-knock warrant at her Kentucky apartment, while Arbery, an unarmed black man, was shot to death while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood by two white men, one a retired law enforcement officer, allegedly investigating a burglary in the area.

The bills sponsored by Pou are:

• S-2592, which would provide the court with discretion to consider the age of a youthful defendant as a mitigating factor in sentencing; and
• S-2591, which would require the Department of Corrections commissioner to issue a Certificate of Eligibility for Resentencing to any inmate who committed a crime as a juvenile and was tried as an adult, received an aggregate sentence of incarceration of 30 years or more, has served at least 20 years of that sentence, and has not been resentenced or previously sought relief under the bill.

The Assembly is expected to take up several criminal reform bills as well in its 11 am remote voting session on Thursday, including legislation which clarifies the use of choke-holds by law enforcement as deadly force.