Fifty-five New Jersey residents were granted a second chance Tuesday, as Gov. Phil Murphy announced 19 commutations and 36 pardons, the latest in his administration’s clemency initiative.

Among them was Antoine Nelson, an Elizabeth native whose path from incarceration to mentorship and community leadership was highlighted during the event.

“I grew up in an environment where we had, like, a survival-mode type of attitude,” Nelson said. “And then I kind of did things that the environment around me, the people around me, the influences around me, that led me to incarceration.”

Nelson was convicted on gun and weapons charges. But he said prison marked the beginning of a different direction. One focused on education, accountability and reform. He took college courses while incarcerated, was eventually released, and over the past 22 years, has dedicated himself to mentoring boys and young men in the community he grew up in.

“I’ve seen them going through the same things I went through when I was a kid.” he said, “So I wanted to be there for them, like nobody was to me. I wanted to step in and be who I needed when I was young.”

Tuesday’s clemency announcements came as part of an initiative Murphy launched in 2024. Since then, the governor has granted 238 clemency actions and said he plans to issue more before leaving office.

According to Gov. Murphy’s office, under the order, certain cases receive expedited consideration, including nonviolent offenses with long periods of good conduct, survivors of domestic violence criminalized as a result of their victimization and sentences shaped by excessive trial penalties. The process also requires input from victims, families and the broader community and evaluates applicants on the full context of their lives and rehabilitation.

Murphy told News12 that each clemency decision undergoes rigorous review.

“You got to look at these very, very carefully. Let’s leave the fearmongering out. Let’s look at the facts. And that’s what we do very intensely,” he said. “Each one of these, I say to folks, is a hand-tailored suit. There’s no blanket assessment here. Each one of these is a very specific determination.”