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LAME DUCK PRIORITIES
We at Salvation and Social Justice encourage lawmakers to adopt policies that benefit our communities. Now is the time to push these policies through.
LEGISLATION THAT BRINGS INCARCERATED ELDERS HOME
SECOND LOOK
We at Salvation and Social Justice encourage lawmakers to adopt policy that: ends life imprisonment; ends mandatory minimums; and expands the clemency and pardoning process for those subjected to disproportionate application of the law. We support policy that is grounded in science about public safety and recidivism and recognizes the humanity of all people.
Branding
Visit www.secondlooknj.org and follow on social media to hear the stories of those directly impacted and learn more about policy and ways to support.
Contact your legislator and urge them to advance S2338/A4463. You can locate your NJ Legislator by visiting https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/#findLegislator.
Encourage your faith networks to reach out to directly impacted members of the community to share their personal stories.
Faith leaders, you can record a 30-second clip explaining the importance of S2338/A4463 and expressing support. Post it to your social media tagging SandSJ and Legislative leadership asking that they post the bill for a hearing.
GET INVOLVED
THE LANDSCAPE OF NEW JERSEY'S INCARCERATED POPULATION
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NJ ranks 4th highest in the US in disproportionately elderly “lifers”
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NJ prisoners age 60+ are the only demographic to steadily increase over the past 10 years
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Aging people in prison require up to 5x the number of medical services and disability accommodations.
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Individuals age 50 or older have a recidivism rate of less than 1%, showing that this aging population poses minimal risk to public safety and are least likely to reoffend.
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People who spend more than 20 years in prison often “age out of crime,” and undergo significant transformation and rehabilitation.
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It costs the state $74,000 per year to house one individual incarcerated person. These costs increase substantially with age and could be upward of $2 million per year per incarcerated person due to acute hospital care and rehab facilities, and an additional $304,000 in overtime for correctional officers who are mandated to guard the patients.
In November 2024, the New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission published a report offering policy recommendations to make the state’s criminal justice system fairer and more equitable. Among those recommendations is a Rehabilitative Release Bill (S2338/A4463), which would:
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Allow incarcerated senior citizens (age 60+), who have spent more than 20 years in prison, to petition the courts to be resentenced or release
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Give petitioners a chance to offer evidence of rehabilitation and transformation, and demonstrate their readiness to return to their communities
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Benefit the state by reducing the number of elderly and infirmed people in prison.
RETURN & RESTORE TOOL KIT
Through this Pulpit Toolkit, Salvation and Social Justice equips faith leaders with the tools to preach, teach, and mobilize around expungement, ensuring that our churches remain the sanctuaries of hope that they have always been. Let this work be a testament to our faith and a fulfillment of our calling because no record is greater than redemption. Click the image to read or download below.
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
USE OF FORCE
Salvation and Social Justice is unwavering in its dedication to safeguarding Black communities across the state of New Jersey from the pervasive culture of police violence that permeates law enforcement agencies statewide. We are not only committed to minimizing the police footprint in Black communities but also to ensuring stringent accountability for police misconduct, abuses, and the use of excessive force. Our mission is to foster just and safe environments where every resident can thrive without fear of injustice or harm.
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In December 2020, Attorney General Grewel released a new statewide Use of Force policy. We are advocating for the adoption of Senate Bill 2348, codifying the Attorney General’s Use of Force Directive. If codified, it would significantly strengthen the protections against police use of force for people in this state beyond any administration, and what has become an increasingly hostile federal government.
Branding
Enacting Senate Bill 2348
You can support SandSJ’s advocacy by signing on to this Faith Leaders Sign-on Letter, urging Senate leadership to adopt this critical legislation as a vital step towards building a safer and more accountable policing system in this state.
Increasing state, county and municipal funding of community-led crisis response teams as an alternative to police in our communities, which have been proven to successfully reduce the instances of violence within communities as well as reducing harmful interactions between Black residents and the police thereby encouraging safer and healthier communities. Use the link and the script below.
Adopting state legislation that would establish strong Civilian Complaint Review Boards (CCRBs). Contact your representative, and urge them to advance legislation establishing CCRBs that include:
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Subpoena power
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The power to hold independent and simultaneous investigations
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Community representation
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Meaningful disciplinary powers.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
GET INVOLVED
USE THIS SCRIPT
Contact your representative by visiting https://njleg.state.nj.us/#findLegislator, and tell them that you wish to see the budgets of New Jersey Community- Based Violence Intervention (CBVI) and Hospital-Based Violence Intervention (HBVI) programs increased by at least 50% and be wholly funded by the state’s cannabis revenue dollars. In 2020, after years of legislative failures, Black faith and community leaders, advocate partners, and directly impacted individuals led and won the campaign for cannabis decriminalization in New Jersey. Our advocacy saw to it that the legislation would include a social equity excise tax and 70% of the sales tax would be invested back into communities most impacted by the War on Drugs. As community-based violence intervention programs across the nation face funding cuts from the federal government, it is essential that New Jersey’s CBVI/HBVI programs be funded by these cannabis dollars to ensure their viability and ability to continue this critical work.