NJ A2422

Creates a new category of aggravated assault for causing bodily injury to a person with a disability, classified as a third-degree crime

Mandates a minimum three-year prison sentence with no parole eligibility for those convicted of assaulting a person with a disability

Defines "person with a disability" as someone with a pre-existing physical or mental impairment who is substantially incapable of exercising normal power of resistance, including those receiving Social Security disability benefits

Adds this offense to New Jersey's existing assault statute (N.J.S.2C:12-1), which already provides enhanced penalties for assaults on law enforcement, firefighters, healthcare workers, and other protected classes

Prompted by the 2006 assault and mugging of Joey Damiano, a Trenton man with an intellectual disability who was beaten and blinded in one eye