[Pnews] Scathing report the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender says Parole Board consistently fails to release parole-eligible applicants including Sundiata Acoli

[Prisoner News]

https://mailchi.mp/e41a015a4a39/bring-sundiata-home-we-need-your-support-4808292?e=c543b063ed

IMMEDIATE RELEASE  October 8, 2021
Media Contact:Heather Hansen
Humanity Communications Collective
Heather at humanitycom.com

NEW REPORT FINDS NEW JERSEY PAROLE BOARD FAILS CITIZENS

Lack of Oversight and Due Process Findings Provide Timely Credence for 
SundiataAcoli Release

TRENTON,NJ—Inascathingreporttopublicdefendersacrossthestate,theNew
JerseyOfficeofthePublicDefender(OPD)ParoleProjectsaidthestate’sParoleBoard 
consistently fails to uphold its state-mandate to release 
parole-eligible applicants.

ThereportlendsnewheftbehindtheeffortsbytheBringSundiataAcoliHomeAlliance, 
agrassrootsefforttohaveSundiataAcoliregainhisfreedom.Acoli,age84,hasbeen 
imprisonedsince1973yetiseligibleforparolesince1993.TheParoleBoardhasdenied 
hisreleaseeighttimes;eachtimeclaimingthathepresentedarisktorecidivatedespite 
alackofobjectiveevidencetosupportthatconclusion. 
Its’findingsprovidetimely 
insight,asAcoliissufferingfromearlydementiaandcontinuinghealthdeterioration 
exacerbated by his hospitalization with Covid-19 last year.

Inthereport,criticismoftheParoleBoardisblistering:“Theessentialunrestricted
discretionthe[Parole]Boardhasbeengiven—andtakesfulladvantageof—israrely 
questionedbyNewJerseycourts.Thishascreatedasystemwithlittleoversight,little 
due process, and manifest injustice.”

“Thisreportsumsupwhatwe’veknownabouttheParoleBoardfordecades:thereisno 
legalreasonwhySundiataAcoliremainsincarcerated,andtheParoleBoardisfailingits 
dutyandstatemandate,”saidSoffiyahElijah,Esq.anorganizeroftheBringSundiata 
AcoliHomeAlliance,whohasworkedwithAcoliandhislegalteamforthepast30 
years.“I’mhopefultheincreasedvisibilityintothesediscrepancies,whichareoften 
writtenoffasinconsequentialbutinreality,haveveryrealconsequencesforthe 
humans behind bars, will bring much-needed change to the parole system.”

SevenamicusbriefswerefiledinrecentmonthstothestateSupremeCourtinsupport 
ofAcoli’srelease.Fiveofthesevenbriefsfocusedonparoleboardirregularities, 
includinglackofdueprocessandfirstamendmentviolations.Oneofthebriefswasfiledonbehalfofnationalblacklawenforcementorganizations,whichsupporthis 
releaseandparole.Thisparoleappealisthemostsupportedbyamicusbriefsinthe 
state’s history.

Acoliwasconvictedin1973ofthefirst-degreemurderofaNewJerseyStateTrooper 
afterashootoutonthestate’sturnpike.Hehasexpressedremorseandcompletedmore 
than100programsforself-improvement.Foreightyears,hetaughtacoursecalled 
CriminalThinkingtootherincarceratedpersonswhichfocusedoncognitive-behavioral 
approaches to reduce recidivism.

The1979ParoleAct,whichappliestoover4,000incarceratedpersons,statesthatthey 
“shallbereleasedonparoleatthetimeofparoleeligibility”unlessitisdemonstrated"by 
apreponderanceoftheevidencethatthereisasubstantiallikelihoodthattheinmate 
will commit a crime . . . if released on parole.”

“Byconsistentlyfailingtoupholditsmandatetoreleaseparole-eligibleapplicants,our 
clientsoftenremainbehindbarsbeyondwhatthesentencingjudgesintheircases 
anticipated,sometimesexceedingtheinitialsentenceitself,”saidRusso,whois 
managingattorneyoftheOPDstatewideappellatesection.“Paroleeligiblepersonswho 
gobeforetheBoardcannothavecounselpresenttochallengetheevidenceandarenot 
permittedtoreviewconfidentialreports—whicharethebasisfortheirdenials.Toadd 
insulttoinjury,over95%ofthosewhoaredeniedparoledonothavecounseltoappeal 
their decisions to the Appellate Division.”

TheParoleProject,co-chairedbyJosephJ.RussoandAlisonPerroneoftheOPD
appellatesection,isastatewideinitiativethatlooksatsystemicinjusticesinNew
Jersey’sparolereleaseprocess.Thenewreportisafollow-uptolastyear’sreportandis 
acalltoactionforpublicdefendersstatewide,withseveral recommendationsto 
effectuate meaningful change in the parole release process.

The300-pagereportincludescasebriefsandidentifiesaseriesofsystemicissues
foundthroughOpenPublicRecordActrequestsandanalysisofparoleboarddecisions 
andappellatecases.Thisincludesdenialofaccesstoconfidentialdocuments,denialof 
counselbeforetheBoard,andatermcallednon-codefactors,whichisnon-standard 
criteriatheBoardinappropriatelyusesinitsdecisionmaking.Thesefactorscommonly 
includelackofinsight,lackofremorse,andinsufficientproblemresolution.Considering 
parolereleasedecisionsusingthesefactorsviolatestheBoard’slegalmandate— 
whether the incarcerated person is likely to recidivate.

Thefinalchapterofthereportsuggestsadministrativeandlegislativeactionsto

improvetheparolesystem,includingprohibitingtheBoardfromrelyinguponfactors 
thathavenosoundlegalorscientificbasisindeterminingparoleeligibility,andthe 
removalofriskassessmenttools,particularlythosethathavefalsenegativesandstatisticallyinsignificantdata. 
Finally,thereportproposesthecreationofaRacial Impact Committee to study 
racial disparities within the parole release process.


The full report can be viewed*here. 
<https://sundiataacolifc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Parole-Press.pdf>*

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