Stop the Spread of COVID From our Jails to the Public

Dear Governor:

Please, Governor Murphy, I urge you again to look into and rectify a violation of your Executive Order in New Jersey's County Jails. In March, you ordered the release of inmates on probation violations because the jails were overcrowded, and a place where COVID-19 could spread. Many of us commend you for that decision, since not only our inmates are at risk, but our correctional officers, correctional facility nurses and doctors, as well. Additionally, our state is back on the rise of COVID-19, with Ocean County being dramatically impacted, our increase is with every 20 per 1000 residents testing positive for COVID this week alone!

Many probation officers, had gone back out, after your executive order and found any violation possible, no matter how minute, in order to hold the very people you had released on the order. Some have even been charged and held on the very same violations they were being held on prior to their release in March, without having made any new violations themselves. The worst part of this situation is the cases are not being heard under due process, since COVID-19 remains an issue for the courts, which as you know, is a violation of our Constitution, as well. Because of this, the jails are once again filled to capacity with inmates sharing cells, rendering it impossible to maintain a six-foot distance.

Please, Governor Murphy, issue a new release of these inmates in the rise of COVID-19 in Ocean and Monmouth County, and much of your state. It is unfair to the public safety that these inmates are packed like sardines in facilities during the new rise of this pandemic. Yes, the jails are now using a quarantine procedure, however, there is no way to stop the spread of Coronavirus in a jail, even with quarantines in place. They must allow the inmates to come out of their cells for at least an hour a day. This is equivalent to allowing us during quarantine to go to the mall an hour a day with one another. Then, those who are at the end of their quarantine period are going into population. Not to mention, the exchange of inmates between areas who work in the kitchens or act as trustees. Additionally, our correctional officers and nurses; and those who work as transporters throughout the jails are at risk of both contracting and spreading COVID. The only way to prevent this pandemic from spreading in the jails is to keep the unnecessary numbers down, as you displayed your knowledge of, in March.

Please, Governor, pardon these inmates, as only you can, to show the loophole, although present, will not be tolerated, and to maintain our public health. Thank you in advance.