Cunningham & Scutari Introduce Bill That Eliminates Mandatory Minimum Sentences for All Nonviolent Offenses
Trenton –Senator Sandra Cunningham and Senator Nick Scutari today introduced legislation to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for all nonviolent offenses. The new bill, S-3658, is identical to the measure rejected by Governor Murphy with a conditional veto.
“We don’t want to give up on our long fought effort to bring real reforms to the criminal justice system by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences,” said Senator Cunningham, who served on the New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission, a panel formed by the Governor and the Legislature that issued a series of reform proposals, including the recommended abolition of mandatory minimums. “These mandated sentences played a significant role in New Jersey having the worst disparity in the country for rates of incarceration between Black and white offenders.”