PARSIPPANY — Assemblyman Jay Webber expressed today his support for expanding funding and easing restrictions on grants given to nonprofits that are at a high-risk of hate crimes or terrorist attacks, such as synagogues, churches, mosques, and community centers.

“A primary responsibility of government is protecting its citizens,” stated Webber (R-Morris).  “In the wake of the horrific anti-Semitic hate crime in Pittsburgh and because of the disturbing increase in anti-Semitic acts of violence in America that responsibility is becoming a more urgent priority every day.”

In 2017, anti-Semitic crimes rose by 32 percent in New Jersey according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The Assembly will vote today on a bill that would increase security grants for nonprofits to $50,000, which can be used to purchase target-hardening equipment such as bullet proof windows and doors.  The grants, which Assemblyman Webber supported last year, are currently capped at $10,000 and can only be used for personnel.

RANDOLPH — A newly launched Bridges-to-Baccalaureate program at County College of Morris (CCM) is providing underrepresented students with extensive support, guidance and research opportunities to assist them in transferring to a four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.

The Northern New Jersey Bridges-to-Baccalaureate (NNJ-B2B) is a partnership of public, associate-degree granting institutions that provides community college students with the opportunity to conduct research at a four-year institution and support services and a mentor to guide them in the application and transfer process to earn their bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.

The program is open to both entering first-year and continuing CCM students interested in STEM careers. Applications are currently being accepted for the 2019 Spring Semester.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wages for all STEM occupations are nearly double the national average wage for non-STEM jobs. Between 2005 and 2015, STEM employment grew by 24.4 percent, five times more than non-STEM jobs, and the demand is expected to continue to grow in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

NNJ-B2B is operated in partnership with the Garden State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a highly successful National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project headed by Rutgers University-Newark to streamline the transition from two- to four-year institutions.

Along with CCM, the community colleges participating in NNJ-B2B are Hudson County Community College, Passaic County Community College, as the lead institution, and Union County Community College.

CCM is receiving $317,556 over three years in NSF grant funding as a NNJ-B2B participant to support students in their quest for a STEM bachelor’s degree. Dr. Teresa Birrer, professor of biology, is serving as CCM’s site coordinator for the program. To learn more and to apply click here.

NEW JERSEY — The Senate Judiciary Committee has passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Pennacchio and Shirley Turner to create a commission that would develop reforms and aid those who have been wrongfully convicted in New Jersey. At the October 29 hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nick Scutari announced that he has agreed to co-sponsor the bill.

Senators Pennacchio and Turner introduced S-406 more than a year ago, following  reports of wrongful conviction cases in New Jersey.

Following Senator Pennacchio’s October 2017 press conference calling for action on the bill, Attorney General Grewal announced a similar effort. Pennacchio noted that there is still a need for legislation.

“We cannot permanently address the crisis of wrongful conviction in New Jersey without codifying an innocence commission into law. If the Legislature doesn’t act, the next administration could easily discontinue Attorney General Grewal’s noble work,”  Senator Pennacchio (R-26) said. “We have heard from a number of exonerees, like AJ Nash, who told us that if this pathway to justice had existed, he would not have spent years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

“Rodney Roberts languished in prison for 17 years. AJ Nash was there for 10. This is a travesty of the highest magnitude. Policy changes like bail reform are meaningless, if we aren’t solving the systemic issues that allow innocent people to stay locked up,” Pennacchio added. “Our search for justice should know no bounds.”

Rodney Roberts was one of the exonerees who came to the Oct. 29th Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing to show his support for S-406. Roberts was exonerated by DNA evidence in 2014, after spending nearly two decades in prison.

“Being forced to plead guilty, knowing you’re innocent, is one of the worst things that could happen to an innocent person,” exoneree Rodney Roberts said. “But it happens more than you think. Then to find out later that, despite being exonerated, your guilty plea will keep you from getting compensation, is like being punished a second time for a crime you didn’t commit.”

“A wrongful conviction can steal years from an innocent person’s life, nothing can return the time lost with loved ones or family milestones missed,” Senator Turner (D-15) said. “Time in prison not only impacts an individual’s personal life, but also their potential lifetime earnings and financial security for themselves and their families.

Nationwide, more than 2,000 wrongfully convicted persons have been exonerated since 1989, according to the National Registry on Exonerations. However, the Registry estimates that there are tens of thousands of false convictions annually, with many more piling up over time.

About Pennacchio/Turner’s S-406: “The New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission”

The “New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission,” as established by S-406, would review all aspects of criminal cases involving wrongful conviction in New Jersey and recommend reforms to reduce the likelihood of wrongful conviction occurring in the future.

Under S-406, the commission must consider a specific recommendation for establishing a permanent panel before which a person who believes they have been the victim of a wrongful conviction could request a review of their own conviction, including those that are currently incarcerated.

The commission’s responsibilities would also include:

• Identifying the main causes of wrongful conviction and studying existing research on these causes;
• Recommending best practices to appropriate constituencies
• Examining the existing system of restitution to compensate wrongfully convicted persons
• Studying successful programs that assist with reintegration back into society following release

S-406 has received the support of a number of advocates, including Lesley Risinger, the founder and director of The Last Resort Exoneration Project at Seton Hall Law School, which provides pro-bono legal and investigative services to wrongfully convicted people in New Jersey. Risinger was present at the committee hearing to support the bill.

“Conviction of the innocent is an abject failure of any criminal justice system,” Risinger said. “Creating the New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission would be an important step in addressing this problem. We believe in a collaborative approach that should take into account the views of all who have participated in the exoneration of the innocent in New Jersey, as well as the views and experiences of the exonerated innocent themselves. If this bill passes, we will of course stand ready to assist the commission as they move forward to study the ways in which our criminal justice system fails the innocent, both before and after conviction, and we look forward to providing our insights on measures to alleviate this problem.”

Safeer Z. Quraishi, administrative director of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, was also present at the committee hearing to support S-406.

“The New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP is in full support of Senate Bill 406 which looks to create the New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission,” Quraishi said. “It is obvious that nobody should feel the devastating effects of incarceration if they did not commit the crime. We are looking forward to seeing the recommendations made by the Commission to reduce wrongful incarceration in New Jersey.”

“This legislation will help us identify how to prevent wrongful convictions and create a pathway for addressing them as soon as possible when they are believed to have happened,” Senator Turner added. “We must do everything in our power to ensure those who have been wrongfully convicted are given justice, restorations, and a pathway to successful reentry.”

“I am grateful to the exoneeres, the advocates, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting our legislation,” Senator Pennacchio added. “I hope our bill will continue to advance quickly. If this isn’t an example of a time-sensitive piece of legislation, I don’t know what is. Let’s get this done now.”

Click here for a copy of Senator Pennacchio and Turner’s legislation, S-406.

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said today:

“In light of the recent mail bombing attempts, and following the horrific acts of murder and terrorism in Pittsburgh, I have asked that we redouble our efforts at the Morris County Sheriff’s Office in support of the strong efforts of our local police chiefs who are doing the same.”

and

“We have been continually patrolling houses of worship and points of our critical infrastructure since the time I entered office, last week, and again yesterday,  I bolstered those efforts to reassure our neighbors in the Jewish Community. We have added visits by Sheriff’s Officers to our normal patrols of these locations.  An attack on any one religion, culture or race, is an attack on us all.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr., New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, and Rockaway Borough Police Chief Conrad Pepperman announce the arrest of three males in connection with a home invasion robbery that occurred on the evening of October 21, in Victory Gardens.

Carlos Rodriguez, 22, with a last known address in Victory Gardens; Victor Hernandez, 19, with a last known address in Rockaway Borough; and Marlon Martinez, 23, also with a last known address in Rockaway Borough, have each been charged with first degree Robbery, second degree Burglary, and second degree Conspiracy to commit Robbery.

An additional charge of third degree Terroristic Threats was also authorized against Rodriguez. It is alleged that on the evening of October 21, 2018, Rodriguez, Hernandez, and Martinez entered a residence located in Victory Gardens through a closed, but unlocked, front door.

The residence was occupied by the leaseholder and two guests. It is alleged that Hernandez and Martinez were both armed with weapons, specifically a baseball bat and a knife.

Upon entering the residence, it is alleged that Rodriguez opened a closet and removed a safe. It is further alleged that Rodriguez then instructed Hernandez and Martinez to demand the safe key from the leaseholder/victim or to kill all three occupants of the residence.

It is alleged that the victim turned over the key, as well as a gold necklace he was wearing, at which point the three Defendants fled the scene.

On October 23, all three Defendants were taken into custody pursuant to this ongoing investigation. Rodriguez was taken into custody in Dover. Hernandez and Martinez were taken into custody in Rockaway Borough.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been actively involved in this investigation, including the New Jersey State Police, the Rockaway Borough Police Department, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit.

If anyone has any information related to this investigation, they are encouraged to call the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6200.

Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.