The New Jersey compassionate release law that took effect last February was supposed to make it easier for gravely ill or dying inmates to get out of prison early and save taxpayers the cost of their care. 

But two cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court will determine the measure’s reach — and whether state judges have the discretion to deny releases for end-of-life prisoners who meet strict medical and safety requirements outlined by the Legislature.

“[It] will really determine the fate of this law,” said Alex Shalom, senior attorney for the ACLU of New Jersey, which has filed amicus briefs in both cases. “It will determine whether the law can achieve its laudable objective of increasing compassion and saving the state money.”

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the compassionate release request for a man who shot and killed a Newark police detective inside an Essex County courtroom in 1993.

The justices will also weigh on a second case regarding the compassionate release of a woman who was convicted of murdering her husband, and who was freed earlier this year due to her permanant physical incapacitation, after a successful appeal of a Superior Court ruling that she be kept in prison.