After seven years in office, NJ Gov finally finds his clemeny pen to grant 33 pardons and three commutations

I am disinclined to have this blog drone on with non-stop clemency coverage, but this is the season for grace and today marked the end of one Garden State mystery with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy finally discovering his clemency power.  This Politico article provides some details:

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday issued 33 pardons and three sentence commutations in his first act of clemency, nearly seven years after he took office.  “My only regret is we did not get to this day sooner,” Murphy said at a Trenton press conference, promising this was just the “first round” of legal relief, with more to come over his final year in office....

Most of the pardons in New Jersey are for non-violent offenses, predominantly property crimes and drug offenses. Some date back to the early 1970s, with the most recent crime being a 2011 conviction for making a false report to law enforcement.

The three sentence commutations are all for women who were convicted of murder, with the most recent one from 2006.  “Over the course of their lives, each one of these women has suffered immense hardship. All of them are survivors in one form or another. But when they were originally sentenced for the crimes they committed years ago, they received sentences that were too long based on what we know today,” Murphy said....

Murphy ran for office as a progressive and instituted several major criminal justice initiatives, including expanding expungement and restoring the right to vote for those on probation and parole. That contrasted with his lack of clemency actions during his seven years in office. Murphy’s recent gubernatorial predecessors from both parties issued pardons or sentence commutations far earlier in their tenure, though most saved the bulk of them for their final year in office.

Murphy in June ordered the formation of a Clemency Advisory Board to consider pardon and commutation applications and make recommendations. The board gave expedited consideration to those convicted of non-violent crimes who later stayed out of the legal system. For commutations, they expedited applications for those given “excessive trial penalty” or if they were victims of domestic violence, sexual violence or sex trafficking.  The Murphy administration also said it made “more robust victim outreach than in prior administrations” ahead of granting clemency.

This official press release from Gov Murphy's office includes the full list of clemency recipients and other details, as well as some quotes from stakeholders (including "criminal justice advocate" Kim Kardashian).