A prison inmate who was released early because of the COVID-19 pandemic has been charged in connection with a murder that occurred several days after he got out.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections tells News 12 New Jersey that 25-year-old Jerry Crawford was released from prison on Nov. 4, 2020 “on public health emergency credits to Mandatory Parole Supervision.”

Five days later, Crawford and another man, 23-year-old Yusuf Waites, were allegedly involved in a shooting that left a Bridgeton man dead.

The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office says that Crawford and Waites left the Burlington Manor Apartments in Bridgeton with Davion Scarborough and walked to a dirt field. An altercation occurred, and Scarborough was left dead from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the prosecutor.

Crawford and Waites were eventually identified and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with that death.

Several lawmakers criticized the Murphy administration when it was first announced that some prison inmates would be let out early because of the pandemic.

Following the charges against Crawford, Republican state Sen. Michael Testa released a statement that said in part, “A member of the public is now dead as a direct result of the Murphy administration’s dangerous early release policy… We warned Governor Murphy that he was putting the public at risk, but he disagreed, with tragic results.”

Without the public health emergency credits, Crawford would have been released from prison on Dec. 24, 2020.