Background on New Jersey Mandatory Minimums

New Jersey enacted mandatory sentencing laws in 1979, requiring completion of the entire mandatory portion of a sentence before an individual becomes eligible for parole consideration. Mandatory minimum sentences, known as “parole disqualifiers” in New Jersey, cannot be reduced by earned credits, commutation, minimum security or work.

The result? Sixty percent of those in New Jersey prisons are serving mandatory minimum sentences. New Jersey has the highest percentage of people imprisoned for a drug offense in the nation - 35 percent - largely because of its "school zone law." This law requires a three-year sentence for those convicted of distributing or possessing with intent to sell drugs within 1,000 feet of school property or a school bus, regardless of whether minors were involved or the individuals knew they were in a school zone.

Because of the density of school and other drug-free zones in urban areas, the laws hit people of color hardest.  In 2004, over 96 percent of all people imprisoned with school-zone violations were African-American or Latino. The state also has a "two-strikes" repeat drug offender law that ties judges hands and is far harsher than the repeat offender provision for other serious crimes.

FAMM actively supported the creation of a New Jersey Commission on Criminal Sentencing, which has reviewed the human and social impact of the drug free zone laws. FAMM campaigns for repeal of mandatory minimum drug laws and supports efforts to provide judges with sentencing alternatives, such as treatment and drug courts, in appropriate cases. 

Please make a note of FAMM's contact information in New Jersey.  Contact:

Joseph Greer, FAMM New Jersey Campaign Director

C/O N.J. FAMM

P.O. Box 699

Plainsboro, N.J. 08536

Email: jgreer@famm.org

Tel: (609) 577-9520

Download the New Jersey FAMM brochure.
 
Download New Jersey's Smart on Crime Briefing Book.

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