PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Phil Murphy says New Jersey will close the troubled Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, the state's only prison for women. The state is making long-term plans to relocate the inmates.
Murphy said Monday that he plans to shut down the Hunterdon County facility following reports of abuse and violence against inmates by staff.
“That was not the first chapter in the long book of this facility, and I’ve just made the decision. Enough. We’re turning the page.”
“It needs to both be closed and reforms need to be implemented, and that process has to begin immediately.”
The governor has also released an investigative report on cell extractions at the facility in January, which allege that corrections officers used excessive force in beating, stripping and pepper-spraying inmates while searching for contraband. That came amid an ongoing federal investigation into sexual abuse of inmates by correctional officers.
Murphy said that he was "deeply disturbed by the horrific attacks that took place on Jan. 11," and that the excessive use of force would not be tolerated.
This incident came while the prison was already under a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into sexual abuse of female inmates by corrections officers.
Murphy noted that he would work with legislative leaders to allocate funding to begin what he said would be a multi-year process to relocate the inmates.
Thirty staffers at Edna Mahan have reportedly been suspended, and 10 corrections offices are facing charges.