A COVID-era prison release law championed by Rep.Nellie Pou, D-N.J., is facing renewed scrutiny after multiple inmates freed early under the program were later charged with murder.More than 7,000 inmates received an early release starting in November 2020 after then-Gov.
Phil Murphy, D-N.J., signed legislation sponsored by Pou, then a New Jersey state senator.Under the law, state inmates were eligible for early release via "public health emergency credits" if they had less than one year remaining on their sentences and had not been convicted of murder or sexual assault and were not sex offenders.People serving time for other violent offenses — including aggravated manslaughter and kidnapping — could still receive a shortened sentence of up to eight months.Rep.Nellie Pou, D-N.J., speaks at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb.
24, 2026.(AFP via Getty Images)NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER'S KILLING REIGNITES SCRUTINY OF ROY COOPER'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORD IN SENATE RACETwo inmates released under the program later pleaded guilty to or were convicted in separate homicide cases.
A third remains in custody awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy charges.Supporters of the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argued the measure was necessary to reduce the prison population amid concerns about overcrowding during the COVID-19 pandemic.A smaller prison population, according to Pou, would "keep everyone, guards included, safer" from the virus, she wrote in a 2020 statement.But the New Jersey Democrat has said little publicly about the law since multiple inmates released under the program were linked to grisly killings.The legislation passed over objections from GOP lawmakers and some county prosecutors, who warned it could endanger public safety by releasing violent offenders early.Jerry Crawford, 30, was arrested in the shooting death of an 18-year-old just two days after his release on parole supervision in November 202...