New Jersey governor allows some state prison inmates to be released amid COVID-19 spread

<p>Certain prisoners deemed low-risk could be moved to temporary home confinement or freed on parole because of the spread of COVID-19 under an executive order Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday.</p><p>The executive order applies only to low-risk prisoners who were denied parole in the last year or whose sentences are over in the next three months.</p><p>"I want to stress that no one convicted of a serious crime, such as murder or sexual assault will be eligible," said Murphy.</p><p>New Jersey has the second-most coronavirus cases in the nation, at 54,588 infections and 1,932 deaths.</p><p>The move comes after the ACLU and other rights advocates demanded that Murphy act immediately to reduce jail populations and free ICE detainees, following a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in prisoners.</p><p>The state Supreme Court already ordered the release of hundreds of low-risk offenders at county jails. It wasn't immediately clear how many inmates at New Jersey State Prison will benefit from the executive order.</p>