For Immediate Release
June 23, 2008
Contact: Joseph Greer (609) 577-9520
TRENTON: The New Jersey Assembly is voting today on legislation to amend the state’s drug free school zone law. For the 1,300 New Jersey members of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national organization of prisoners and their families, criminal justice experts and concerned citizens, it is a step in the right direction.
“FAMM supports this smart and cost-effective approach to amending the drug-free school zone law because it will save the state money, reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system and better fit the punishment to the individual and the crime,” said Joseph Greer, NJ FAMM campaign director.
A-2762 is sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D-Bergen). This bill would allow the courts to exercise limited discretion when sentencing defendants under the drug-free school zone statute.
FAMM supports A-2762 because:
• It makes the law more effective. Studies show that fewer than two percent of zone offenses involve minors or school property – the law has been completely ineffective in protecting children.
• It begins to address the negative consequences of incarcerating so many New Jerseyans for low-level drug offenses. New Jersey has the highest percentage of state prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses – 35 percent – largely because of the drug-free zone law.
• It addresses the damaging impact of the drug-free school zone on our state’s minority population. Over 96 percent of all people imprisoned with drug-free zone violations are African-American or Latino, a disparity that has eroded trust and confidence in the justice system.
"Allowing the courts to exercise discretion when sentencing defendants under the drug-free school zone statute could save the state millions in corrections costs and reduce the human and fiscal waste of mandatory minimum drug sentences,” said Greer.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and proportionate sentences. For information, call Joseph Greer at (609) 577-9520 or email Monica Pratt Raffanel monica@famm.org.
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