New Jersey governor allows some state prison inmates to be released amid COVID-19 spread

Certain prisoners deemed low-risk could be moved to temporary home confinement or freed on parole because of the spread of COVID-19 under an executive order Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday.
The executive order applies only to low-risk prisoners who were denied parole in the last year or whose sentences are over in the next three months.
"I want to stress that no one convicted of a serious crime, such as murder or sexual assault will be eligible," said Murphy.
New Jersey has the second-most coronavirus cases in the nation, at 54,588 infections and 1,932 deaths.
The move comes after the ACLU and other rights advocates demanded that Murphy act immediately to reduce jail populations and free ICE detainees, following a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in prisoners.
The state Supreme Court already ordered the release of hundreds of low-risk offenders at county jails. It wasn't immediately clear how many inmates at New Jersey State Prison will benefit from the executive order.