At least 43 South Jersey county jail inmates have been released over the past two weeks after an order was signed by a state judge to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spreading through facilities.
Thirty inmates in the Atlantic County jail were eligible for release under the order, according to county Deputy Public Defender Scott D. Sherwood. The county Prosecutor’s Office objected to 14, but 27 of the 30 were released.
In Cape May County, 21 inmates fit the criteria, according to county Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland. The state objected to 12, but 16 were released.
Prosecutor’s Offices in Atlantic and Cumberland counties did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the deputy public defender in Cumberland County.
“The combined efforts to reduce county jail populations during the COVID-19 public health emergency have truly been aimed at the safety of the entire community,” Cape May County Deputy Public Defender Eric R. Shenkus said. “What started three weeks ago as a fear of easy spread within New Jersey’s county jails has unfortunately turned into a grim reality.”
Jails in the northern part of the state have seen positive cases in staff and inmates; the Hudson County jail has recorded cases in 15 inmates, seven Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and 41 staff members, NorthJersey.com reported.
Atlantic County officials have reported one inmate who tested positive for the new coronavirus at a rehab facility after leaving the county jail. No positive cases have been identified in the Cape May County jail, county Sheriff Bob Nolan said Wednesday. Cumberland County jail Warden Richard Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner signed an order March 22 allowing some inmates serving out county jail sentences — including inmates who are serving sentences of 364 days or less either as a condition of probation or for low-level offenses, including municipal court convictions — to be released due to the pandemic.
Shenkus said that, in addition to those released under order, the Public Defender’s Office has sought individual review of 22 clients detained pretrial, of which 13 have since been released, and also the review of all clients in the county jail who are awaiting admission into drug treatment programs.
“Since the implementation of the governor’s stay-at-home orders, we have seen a significant drop in the number of defendants being sent to the Cape May County jail on new charges, countering any fears that crime would increase as a result of the release of low-risk offenders,” he said. “In the week prior to the consent order — from March 16 to March 20 — there were seven defendants sent to the county jail on new charges. This week, there has been one.”
On Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order allowing some state prison inmates to be released in an effort to stem cases in state facilities.
In South Jersey, there are three DOC facilities, all in Cumberland County — South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, Southern State Correctional Facility in Maurice River Township and Bayside State Prison, also in Maurice River.
As of Friday evening, one inmate and one staff member had tested positive at South Woods State Prison, one inmate and 10 staff members had tested positive at Southern State Correctional Facility, and there have been no confirmed cases at Bayside State Prison, according to the DOC website. There have also been no inmate deaths due to the new coronavirus at any of the three facilities.
It is unclear how many prison inmates will be released under Murphy’s order.
