A new report from the research and advocacy group, the Sentencing Project, finds that New Jersey incarcerates Black people 12.5 times more than white residents; this is the largest such racial disparity in the nation. Researchers say it’s disturbing that the findings haven’t changed much since their last report in 2016. Advocates say more needs to be done to address criminal and economic policies in the state so that there is meaningful change.
“We need to do a drastic overhaul of our sentencing policy. We took a few good steps toward reducing minimum sentencing application but we need to end all mandatory sentencing… We need police accountability. New Jersey is behind on police disciplinary transparency. Twenty-nine other states have better disciplinary transparency practices than New Jersey. So we need to catch up. We also know that we need to appoint prosecutors that are committed to ending racial disparities and prison sentencing,” said Sarah Fajardo, policy director of the ACLU of New Jersey.
