Social Justice Article: A Criminal's Justice - Norman Reid Fighting Against the Odds
- Umar Muhajjir
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Topic: Advocating for Justice in New Jersey's Criminal Justice System
July 9, 2025
By: Umar Muhajjir
When I immerse myself in the annotated New Jersey Criminal Justice Code and Procedures Handbook, I find myself overwhelmed by the labyrinth of legal jargon and convoluted statutes. It's no wonder that New Jersey not only incarcerates more residents per capita than any other state in the U.S. but also has one of the highest rates of overturned convictions in the country. Strikingly, the state continues to house prisoners for years--sometimes decades--while they fight against illegal imprisonment.
One such prisoner is Norman Reid, a 53-year-old man convicted in 1997 of aggravated manslaughter. Reid's case is a glaring example of the systemic failures and racial bias within the criminal justice system. He was sentenced to 30 years to life after a trial in which he claimed self-defense, stating that he believed the victim was reaching for a gun. What Reid didn't know at the time was that his sentence was based on a misinterpretation of his prior convictions. Reid did not know at the time that he lost the trial that his sentence ranged from 10 to 30 years. During sentencing, it was up to the jury to decide and impose the original extended term sentence of life with the possibility of parole. Reid never had a chance to be heard by a jury. This error, compounded by judicial bias, has kept him behind bars for nearly three decades.
STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. NORMAN REID: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-unpublished/2006/a5538-03-opn.html
A Miscarriage of Justice
Reid's sentencing was riddled with errors. The judge incorrectly calculated his prior convictions, treating them as four separate offenses rather than two. These prior convictions included minor drug charges--amounting to just 1.5 grams of cocaine--and obstruction of justice. Despite these being petty offenses, they were used to justify an extended sentence of 30 years to life, far exceeding the statutory range of 10 to 30 years.
I sat in awe as he shared his story with me, and I had only one question that came to mind. How long did it take him to figure out that his sentence was illegal? Like all men in captivity, Reid battled with coming to grips with having a life behind bars.
In 1999, Reid appealed his sentence, and by 2000, a groundbreaking Supreme Court case, Apprendi v. New Jersey, offered a glimmer of hope. The ruling established that any fact increasing a penalty must be decided by a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. However, when Reid appeared for resentencing, the judge ignored this precedent and reimposed the same sentence, reading verbatim from the original transcript that had the judge's error.
"Blakely vs. Washington: (a) This case requires the Court to apply the rule of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U. S. 466, 490, that, “[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” The relevant statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes is the maximum a judge may impose based solely on the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant."
Instead of the judge counting four charges on two separate occasions, he based his decision on the thought that Reid was sentenced on four different occasions for four separate crimes. This alone was unconstitutional, notwithstanding the fact that the present crime was never to be coupled with past minor convictions already served; hence, the judge decided to announce convictions that shouldn't have been considered. Instead of being given a sentence of anywhere from 10 to 30 years, Reid was given a 30-year-to-life conviction, as per the judge.
This blatant disregard for the law only deepened Reid's resolve to fight for justice. This minor setback did not hinder Reid but fueled the fire that only an injustice could provoke, and he was again looking for a legal loophole to correct his sentence.
Fighting Against the Odds
Reid's journey is one of resilience and determination. While incarcerated at Trenton State Prison, he poured over thousands of pages of legal documents, searching for a way to correct his sentence. In 2005, another Supreme Court case, Blakely v. Washington, further clarified the principles established in Apprendi, ruling that judges cannot impose sentences exceeding the statutory maximum without the involvement of a jury. Yet, despite these legal precedents, Reid's appeals were repeatedly denied.
Reid's story is not unique. It is a reflection of a criminal justice system that disproportionately targets Black citizens, exploiting their lack of legal knowledge to impose harsher sentences in all categories of the law: criminal, civil, and traffic. Fair is something that is supposed to show up in a courtroom, but for Black and Brown men and women, guilt seems to be an unfair birthright. As Reid himself stated, "A Black man in this United States has to work five times as hard to prove his innocence."
A Call to Action
Reid is scheduled for a third resentencing on July 9, 2025. This is not just an opportunity to rectify an individual injustice, but a chance to shed light on the systemic issues plaguing New Jersey's criminal justice system. Reid is not asking for sympathy; he is asking for fairness. He acknowledges his crime and seeks to atone for it, but he also demands that the law be applied constitutionally and without bias.
Reid's case underscores the urgent need for community involvement. As he poignantly remarked, "It seems the community only gets involved when there's a video of a Black man with his back against the wall, being physically choked to death, or with a knee on his neck while being physically choked to death. I hope this court date can inspire a community that holds lawmakers accountable for the treatment of one of our most vulnerable populations--the prison population." Reid asks that concerned community members to "help pry the proverbial knee off of my neck and ensure that equality and justice are served even for those with whom society deems as a lower social class. For their treatment is a reflection of the society's moral and integral values."
Why This Matters
The treatment of prisoners reflects our society's moral and ethical values. If we allow systemic bias and judicial misconduct to persist, we are complicit in perpetuating injustice. Reid's case is a rallying cry for all of us to demand accountability and equality within the criminal justice system.
Norman Reid's fight is not just his own; it is a fight for every individual who has been wrongfully sentenced, for every family torn apart by an unjust system, and for every community that has suffered under the weight of systemic racism. Let us stand together to ensure that justice is not just a word but a reality for all.
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