Boy, this timing is a bit suspect.
I don't ever remember a statewide crusade over correctional facilities that NEW JERSEY actually owns, operates, & controls.
Did you know NJ's own Corrections Ombudsman described portions of New Jersey State Prison in Trenton as inhumane & called for housing units to be flat-out demolished? Crumbling cell blocks, blistering heat, unsafe conditions SO BAD that NJ's own watchdog concluded they should no longer remain in service.
Next up is Edna Mahan Women's Prison— arguably the biggest stain in the history of the NJ Department of Corrections. Long & sordid history of abuse, lawsuits, investigations, federal crackdowns, YEARS before the state addressed it. The federal findings were so scathing that they forced
@GovMurphy's hand to close the prison & replace the facility.
Federal Findings:
justice.gov/crt/page/file/12…
Federal Consent Decree:
justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/…
The state itself reports poor medical care, mold, rodents, flooding, sewage, heat-related illness, communication & visitation issues, violent assaults, retaliation complaints, etc. across the NJDOC. The state also reported that 336 inmates died in NJ prisons between 2018 & 2024, including suicides, overdoses, homicides, & accidents. THAT IS HORRIFIC.
Now here's where it gets confusing. Nearly that entire period overlaps with then-Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill's tenure in Washington. So considering that timeline, do you remember our new
@GovSherrillNJ & friends storming prison gates on Memorial Day, climbing fences at New Jersey State Prison, or throwing hands with law enforcement to get inside Edna Mahan Women's Prison?
You know, I just don't remember any of that.
But slap the words
@DHSgov & ICE on a building and suddenly it's the moral outrage of this generation.
You draw your own conclusions.
What say you,
@NewJerseyOAG ?
Reports about conditions at Delaney Hall are shocking. Bad or no medical care, no toilet paper, worms in food.
Even a report of tuberculosis.
With
@GovSherrillNJ and
@NJDeptofHealth, we are suing Geo Group to secure immediate access to conduct a full health inspection.