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A COVID-era prison release law championed by Rep. Nellie Pou, D-N.J., is facing renewed scrutiny after multiple inmates freed early under the program were later charged with murder.
More than 7,000 inmates received an early release starting in November 2020 after then-Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., signed legislation sponsored by Pou, then a New Jersey state senator.
Under the law, state inmates were eligible for early release via “public health emergency credits” if they had less than one year remaining on their sentences and had not been convicted of murder or sexual assault and were not sex offenders.
People serving time for other violent offenses — including aggravated manslaughter and kidnapping — could still receive a shortened sentence of up to eight months.
Rep. Nellie Pou, D-N.J., speaks at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
Two inmates released under the program later pleaded guilty to or were convicted in separate homicide cases. A third remains in custody awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy charges.
Supporters of the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argued the measure was necessary to reduce the prison population amid concerns about overcrowding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A smaller prison population, according to Pou, would “keep everyone, guards included, safer” from the virus, she wrote in a 2020 statement.
But the New Jersey Democrat has said little publicly about the law since multiple inmates released under the program were linked to grisly killings.
The legislation passed over objections from GOP lawmakers and some county prosecutors, who warned it could endanger public safety by releasing violent offenders early.
Jerry Crawford, 30, was arrested in the shooting death of an 18-year-old just two days after his release on parole supervision in November 2020.
Crawford, who had been serving a burglary sentence, would have otherwise remained incarcerated until the following month, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections, NJ.com reported.
He is scheduled to stand trial in January 2027 on murder and conspiracy charges, according to New Jersey court records.
Another inmate, 31-year-old Ronny Paden, was released early in November 2020 after the COVID-era program shortened his sentence for aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Two months later, he shot and killed two men at a birthday party.
Paden later pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in state prison.
A third inmate, Theodore Luckey, 47, is serving life without parole after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.
Rep. Nellie Pou, D-N.J., is facing scrutiny over a COVID-era prison release law she sponsored while serving in the New Jersey Legislature. Jerry Crawford, right, was charged in the killing of an 18-year-old just two days after being released under the program. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Cumberland County Jail)
Luckey attacked and killed an ex-boyfriend with a machete in August 2021, striking him more than 120 times, after being released from prison in May. Prosecutors also said he strangled another man in a hotel room shortly beforehand.
He was released from prison under the program eight months early after completing most of a 15-year prison sentence involving a burglary conviction and illegal possession of a deadly weapon, the New Jersey-based Asbury Park Press reported.
Republicans sharply criticized Pou’s embrace of the early prison release program that freed several repeat offenders.
“Instead of holding criminals accountable, soft-on-crime radical Nellie Pou spearheaded legislation that lets violent offenders off the hook and threatens the safety of law-abiding New Jerseyans,” New Jersey Republican Chairwoman Christine Giordano Hanlon told Fox News Digital.
“Nellie is a threat to her constituents’ safety, and they’ll send her packing because of it,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said.
A representative for Pou did not directly respond to a request for comment about whether the congresswoman believed the program proved successful, but emphasized Pou’s support for law enforcement and public safety.
“Just this year, Congresswoman Pou voted in favor of more than $253 million in funding to hire and rehire local police and to steer $13.5 million toward state law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking,” Morghan Cyr, Pou’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Gov. Phil Murphy greet the audience before a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien to benefit Montclair Film at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J., on Dec. 7, 2025. (Getty Images)
The GOP attacks come as Pou is seeking a second House term in a northern New Jersey House seat that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in 2024.
Pou, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has joined House Democratic leadership in voting against GOP-authored legislation ranging from legislation cracking down on illegal immigration to targeting “soft-on-crime” policies in Washington, D.C.
Still, it remains unclear whether Pou will face a serious re-election threat.
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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race in favor of Democrats earlier this year to “Likely Democrat,” citing New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., carrying Pou’s district by nearly 20 points during the 2025 gubernatorial contest.