New Jersey isn’t particularly friendly to taxpayers, Save Jerseyans, but it’s turning into a state that unapologetically embraces criminals and criminality.
Governor Phil Murphy, who declared New Jersey a “Sanctuary State” for illegals in 2018 and later released dangerous criminals during the pandemic, doubled-down on this objectively disturbing trend by granting clemency to 93 more criminals last week including five murderers. That’s right… not just “non-violent drug offenders,” single moms who stole loaves of bread or misunderstood youths shoplifting razors and cough syrup from the local pharmacy. Cold blooded killers.
Among them: Paige Pfefferle who was convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing her high school boyfriend to death fifteen years ago in an Aububon Park (Camden County) home kitchen. Pfefferle received a 30-year sentence and wouldn’t have been released from prison until September 2024. Then Murphy intervened.
“With our Administration’s groundbreaking clemency initiative, we are living up to New Jersey’s reputation as the ‘State for Second Chances,'” said Murphy in a statement announcing his clemency decisions. “The individuals to whom I have granted clemency today have earned their legal relief by dedicating themselves to becoming responsible, well-rounded citizens who are passionate about contributing to their communities and society as a whole. As we prepare to announce additional clemency actions over the coming months, I am deeply grateful to Justin Dews and the Clemency Advisory Board for their steadfast dedication and commitment to ensuring that nobody is left behind by our criminal justice system. Granting each of these individuals a second chance to rebuild their lives is truly one of the greatest honors of my time as Governor.”
“I’m grateful to be granted clemency so I can advocate for those who suffer from mental health issues and women and young girls who are survivors of domestic abuse,” said Pfefferle in a statement released by the ACLU-NJ. “We thank Governor Murphy for continuing to leverage the power of clemency to ensure that New Jersey lives its values of justice for all,” added ACLU-NJ Director of the Clemency Project Rebecca Uwakwe. “By prioritizing decarceration in this way, our state has shown that clemency is about so much more than mercy – it’s a second chance at freedom.”
But prosecutors and other critics have never bought into Pfefferle’s domestic violence explanation nor did the jury at the time of her trial.
Another commutation recipient – Alberto Salazar – received a 30-year prison sentence in the early 2000s after a 88-year-old Elizabeth robbery victim fell and died. Due to his immigraiton status? He faces deportation post-release.
Murphy is undeniably an outlier even among his fellow Democrats. New Jersey governors have granted a combined 105 pardons and commutations between 1994 and 2024; the Democrat Governor’s personal total is now a staggering 129, dwarfing the totals of all of his predecessors.
