TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- One New Jersey lawmaker says the state can save money and reduce recidivism by ex-prisoners by implementing several administrative and legislative reforms.
Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has staged a series of "Second Chance" hearings, designed to look at all facets of incarceration, plans to soon introduce a six-bill legislative package to meet those goals.
The lawmaker, whose two sons served state prison terms for robbery, says the measures won't make life easier for inmates, but rather mandate that they take part in educational and job skills programs that would improve their chances for success once they're freed.
"The pervasive cycle of arrest, release and re-arrest is failed system that wastes lives and costs taxpayers dearly," Watson Coleman said.
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