TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey corrections officers must wear body cameras and prison guard retaliation against inmates who report abuse or violence would be prohibited under a package of a half-dozen bills an Assembly committee advanced Tuesday.
The Democrat-led Assembly Judiciary Committee passed the six bills during a remote hearing that stemmed from an ongoing investigation into the state's only women’s prison, the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton.
The bills are the latest legislative action aimed at ending what lawmakers have called the “depravities” at the prison, where 10 guards face criminal charges brought by the state attorney general stemming from what he said was a violent attack on women at the prison in January.
“The pattern of abuse, including rampant sexual abuse, and systemic failures at Edna Mahan call out for legislative action,” said Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji in a statement.
In addition to requiring body-worn cameras for corrections officers and barring retaliation against inmates who filed complaints, other measures would expand residential community release programs, commonly called halfway houses, broaden guard training to include treating inmates with dignity, require county jails to give inmates documents on reentering society before their release, require officers assigned to special investigations in state prisons to get training on conducting sexual abuse inquiries.
The legislation must still go before the full Assembly and be passed by the Senate before heading to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Senate President Sweeney’s spokesperson Richard McGrath said Senate leaders plan to advance the bills. A message seeking comment was left with the governor. Assembly members say the package of bills is the first of two they plan to pursue.
The labor union representing state correctional officers called out only the body camera bill. William Sullivan, the President of the State Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 105, said in a statement that the legislation would require more training and means more responsibility for officers. Officers should be paid more for the added duties, he said.
“If they compensate our officers I would have no reason oppose the bill,” he said in an email.
The state Corrections Department is currently in the midst of a pilot program implementing some cameras, and it will be important to see how that plays out, he added.
The legislative action grew out of headline-grabbing developments Edna Mahan.
In January, guards attacked at least six victims, breaking a bone and pepper-spraying one woman, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. That resulted in 10 correctional officers being charged with official misconduct, among other charges. A motive has not been given, and attorneys for several of the guards have said their clients are not guilty.
That led lawmakers to seek Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks’ resignation. The state Senate went so far as to pass a resolution seeking his dismissal. Hicks has defended his tenure and said he’s added body cameras at Edna Mahan and hired more women on staff, plus other changes.
Hicks has also retained a consultant to help turn around the prison. The Moss Group will make about $1.3 million for its services, according to public records.
The January attack also led Murphy to hire an attorney to investigate what happened.
In April, the state announced it was settling lawsuits with inmates at the prison going back to 2014 for nearly $21 million. Hicks also said a deal with the U.S. Justice Department on a consent decree was being finalized, with a federal monitor likely to be imposed.
In April 2020, a U.S. Justice Department report last year concluded inmates’ rights had been violated at Edna Mahan amid a culture of acceptance of sexual violence toward the women at the prison.