In 2016, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault. He was sentenced to a ten-year term of imprisonment with an 85% period of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act. In May 2020, the defendant filed a Rule 3:21-10(b)(2) motion for release, providing voluminous medical documents in support of his motion showing he had been undergoing treatment for sickle cell anemia, asthma, latent tuberculosis, hypothyroidism, and a heart murmur. The trial court denied the motion. The Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed. The Court ruled that allowing defendants to proceed with a Rule 3:21-10(b)(2) motion before serving their 85% period of parole ineligibility would circumvent the Legislature’s objectives and its approach to violent crimes. Moreover, the defendant failed to meet his burden under State v. Priester, because he could not prove the necessary devastating effect that incarceration had on his health.
