Bills would repeal law on inmates' early release

TRENTON - Republican lawmakers have come forward to sponsor bills to repeal the automatic early release of certain inmates six months before the end of their sentences, as called for this week by Gov. Christie.

The move comes after an inmate who had been freed early was charged six weeks later with shooting a man to death outside a party in Jersey City.

"Protecting the public is one of the first duties of government," said Assemblyman David Rible (R., Monmouth), a sponsor of the Assembly bill to repeal the provision.

State Sen. Diane Allen (R., Burlington) is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.

Rondell Jones, 21, went to prison for possessing heroin and a BB gun. He was released on parole Jan. 24 after serving a year behind bars, six months before his sentence was to run out.

He never met with a parole officer, and a warrant for his arrest was issued March 3. Two days later, Jones shot a man in the back four times as the man walked away from an argument outside a party, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. U.S. marshals tracked him down three days later.

The shooting reinvigorated a debate at the Statehouse between Christie and the sponsor of the early-release program, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D., Mercer), whom the governor has criticized for refusing to amend the law to stop it from automatically requiring inmates' release on parole.

If inmates meet the criteria, such as being deemed nonviolent, they automatically get parole. Other criteria include previously being denied parole, as Jones was for being caught with a cell phone while locked up.

Watson Coleman's bill creating the program was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine on his last day in office. In signing it, Corzine attached a statement indicating he had been assured the bill would be amended before it took effect to remove the provision to require parole release six months before a sentence was up.

Watson Coleman has said she promised only to make sure the bill didn't have the unintended consequence of letting inmates out before they were eligible for parole or releasing violent offenders. She received legal assurances from the Office of Legislative Services that it did not.

The law went into effect in July, a month after Christie's chief counsel sent Watson Coleman a letter accusing her of breaking a promise to fix the automatic release.

"Ultimately, you will be held responsible for the unfortunate and completely preventable consequences of this legislation," wrote chief counsel Jeff Chiesa, who estimated that as many as 200 inmates a month were being granted early release.

At a news conference Wednesday, Christie placed responsibility for the shooting death on Watson Coleman.

"It is tragic that because of Assemblywoman Watson Coleman's philosophy on crime that we now have one person who has lost his life," Christie said.

Watson Coleman called the governor a bully and pointed to the fact that if Jones had been arrested soon after the warrant was issued by his parole officer, the victim might still be alive.

"The warrant wasn't executed," Watson Coleman said. "It's an unfortunate tragedy that my Republican colleagues and the governor are trying to turn into political posturing."