Some New Jersey convicts could get home confinement under new order

TRENTON, N.J. - 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 order will only apply to a small percentage of the state’s incarcerated population.

Those eligible for temporary home confinement under the order include:

- Those whose current age or health status puts them at risk for COVID19

- Those who had been denied parole within the last year

- Those who sentences are to expire within the next three months.

People convicted of what Murphy called serious crimes like murder or rape would not be eligible for home confinement or parole.

Those eligible will still be subject to supervision of the state’s Department of corrections.

More information about the conditions of temporary home confinement can be found here.

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New Jersey's death toll from COVID-19 climbed by 233 people to about 2,000 on Friday, Murphy said.

While the number of positive cases and fatalities continue to climb, Murphy said, "good early signs" were beginning to emerge.

The rate at which the number of positive cases doubles in hard-hit Bergen County had lengthened to about seven days, up from about three days.

The number of positive cases in the state reached about 55,000, up 3,600 over the previous 24 hours, Murphy said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.