In a state where the racial injustice in our criminal justice system is so clearly documented, ending mass incarceration and racial and ethnic humiliation should be a core policy priority. Specifically:

●  The brutal and inhumane practice of solitary confinement which is frequently based on politics and race and serves no rational purpose for discipline or protection, must cease. Governor Christie should sign the bills that were introduced by Senator Lesniak and Assemblywoman Pinkin and passed both the Senate (S2588) and Assembly (A4510).

●  Mandatory minimum sentencing laws should be abolished.

●  The failed war on drugs has only broken up our poorest communities, disproportionately jailing people of African descent. The state that puts 12 Blacks in jail for every white inmate must redeem itself by developing a plan for decarceration and convening an exclusively African American commission to explore reparations.

●  The Office of the Public Advocate should be reopened and prepared to receive grievances from inmates, their families, and human rights advocates.

●  Meaningful reform must take place to ensure Black and Latino children are not disproportionately waived to the adult system. 

●  Exorbitant commissary and phone card prices in jail and prison must cease.

●  Relationship strengthening between police and the communities should take a balance of legislated changes that bring accountability and intentional and meaningful dialogue in communities. Careful work with the police, Black Lives Matter, NAACP, local churches and other community groups should be a focus of the upcoming administration.

●  Neither current nor past incarceration should prevent New Jersey citizens from their right to vote any longer. We should not allow the state to suppress voters from the polls because of felony convictions. New Jersey’s racial disparity in State prisons is the worst of all 50 states. Therefore, prisoners need to have a say in who leads the government, and a voice in policymaking, just like everyone else. It affects them and it affects their families, who are far too often unsupported when they lose a breadwinner to the prison-industrial complex. We should have voting rights in New Jersey for the incarcerated and those convicted of a felony with Maine and Vermont as precedent-setters in this area.

●  Another way the imprisonment of one family member devastates the whole family unit is through the loss of the right to a minimum wage. We should ensure prisons will no longer be an avenue for corporations to add to their profits through exploitation of people’s labor. NJ should have minimum wage or better beginning during a person’s sentence. No prison system should resemble or perpetuate owner-slave relations or present opportunities for market investment or economic growth. The meaningful and rewarded work of the person in prison should then result in child support for the family.

●  Affordable housing upon re-entry to the community should be another priority. NJ should put millions more dollars into the Housing Trust Fund including better meeting the re-entry needs of the formerly incarcerated. Meaningful re-entry services should begin in earnest on the day of entry into prison/jail. Prison serves as a tool of correction, which means it should also be a launch pad for meaningful opportunities to live a better, safer life.