New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says broad groups of people convicted of crimes, and who meet certain criteria, could become eligible for clemency soon, the Gothamist reports. “I would hope sooner than later, within the next month or two, we're going to unveil a process … that will be, I think, revolutionary relative to what you've seen in New Jersey historically,” Murphy said Tuesday during a radio call-in show. The initiative would look at “broad categories of individuals who would automatically be eligible upon application for accelerated consideration” of clemency, Murphy said. The governor, however, stopped short of saying who might receive clemency, or for what types of crimes.
Last month, Murphy referred to action during his State of the State address, promising to unveil a clemency initiative “that will ensure we live up to our promise as the state for second chances.” Since taking office in 2018, the governor has not taken clemency actions, either through reducing prisoners’ sentences or granting pardons, Politico reports. On Tuesday, Murphy said the initiative is still being worked on, but promised that New Jerseyans would hear more about it soon. Pressed on why he has yet to take any clemency actions, Murphy said that’s “not atypical” for a governor. He said that his impression is that most officials with clemency authority wait until the end of their time in office to make those decisions.