April 28, 2025
Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Gov. Phil Murphy has issued two 'rounds' of actions since he announced a new clemency initiative last summer and has freed nine people from prison and pardoned 120.
Last summer, Gov. Phil Murphy announced a new clemency initiative designed to fast-track the review of certain applications for pardons or commutations. He's issued two "rounds" of actions since then that have freed nine people from prison and pardoned 120.
That's more than the 105 pardons and commutations issued in New Jersey from the previous nine administrations combined — over a span of 30 years — and he's not planning to stop there. Murphy told reporters April 8, following his latest clemency actions, that he was aiming for two or three more rounds before he leaves office in 2026.
"As his final year in office moves forward, Governor Murphy is eager to announce more clemency actions, which he considers one of the greatest honors of his time as governor," a spokesperson added.
The future of the project beyond the Murphy administration, however, remains an open question. The Democratic governor, who took office in 2018, is approaching the end of his second consecutive term and can't run for a third in a row. The race to replace him is crowded with 11 candidates, many of whom skew more conservative than Murphy and may be less likely to embrace an initiative designed to address inequities in the justice system.
Since its launch on Juneteenth 2024, the clemency project has considered certain categories of cases for expedited review by an executive advisory board. Applicants seeking a pardon who completed their last sentence at least a decade ago — or five years ago if they are either 60 or older or were 25 or younger at the time of their crime — meet the time-based criteria. The nature of the offense is another consideration. If a person seeking a pardon committed an offense that is no longer a crime, for instance, they would be eligible for faster review.
The initiative also extends expedited reviews for commutations, which essentially reduce a currently incarcerated person's sentence to time served, to victims of domestic violence who committed a crime against their abuser and those who received an "excessive trial penalty." This refers to situations where defendants are offered a plea deal with a relatively lighter sentence but receive a much harsher one when they go to trial.
These two categories of commutation cases have been a particular focus for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which began building its own clemency project in 2022, as Murphy started his second term. It formally launched in 2024.
"We realized that we have a second-term Democratic progressive governor in office, and we have an opportunity right now," said Amol Sinha, the executive director of ACLU-NJ. "We knew that the governor would probably issue pardons and commutations at some point during his second term, and we wanted to build a framework around it."
The ACLU project was overwhelmed with thousands of letters, phone calls and emails from prospective clients when it debuted, Sinha said. The nonprofit has ultimately taken on about 100, seven of whom received commutations through the governor's clemency actions. Some law firms, law school clinics and universities like Princeton have also stepped in to handle cases, creating a wider apparatus around Murphy's initiative.
What will happen to it when his successor assumes office? Sinha is hopeful that clemency can be a "bipartisan issue" and that whoever steps into Murphy's shoes next January will heed the governor's words last December, when he issued the project's first pardons and commutations: "My only regret is that we didn't get to this day sooner."
"He is basically sending a message to the next governor and to governors all across the country to not regret not doing this earlier," Sinha said. "I think it's a call for governors all across the country of any party and the next governor of New Jersey, whoever that might be, to get to this day earlier, make sure that you're offering clemency. There are way too many people that are incarcerated that should no longer be."
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