Thread by @spsullivan

THREAD:

Yesterday, the @TheJusticeDept released a damning 31-page report finding a "culture" that encourages sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates at New Jersey's women's prison, a problem that at least two administrations "failed to remedy." nj.com/coronavirus/20…

I have been reporting on issues at Edna Mahan for years, though I'll admit I've recently neglected the problem as other issues have commanded my attention. We first wrote about one case involving one officer and 16(!) prisoners in 2017. nj.com/news/page/lock…

Officials in the Christie admin portrayed the issue as a few bad apples that they were weeding out with better training. My sources inside the prison said nothing changed. Meanwhile, after our first story, county prosecutors started making cases. nj.com/politics/2017/…

Fast forward to January 2018. A new governor. In response to our stories, state lawmakers held hearings. Yet @GovMurphy's administration did not send anyone from corrections to explain what they would do to stop the abuse. nj.com/politics/2018/…

Here's what a spokesman for the then-new governor told me. That was two years ago. Murphy's office has yet to explain what "working closely" meant.

MEANWHILE, here's what @GovMurphy's corrections department is saying about the report. It is objectively untrue that the allegations are limited to the previous administration. This continues to happen on Murphy's watch.

From those 2018 hearings came 3 reform laws, which Murphy signed. They require more training for officers, codify reporting practices for abuse & limit cross-gender strip searcheshttps://www.nj.com/politics/2020/01/murphy-signs-3-laws-to-prevent-sex-abuse-at-nj-womens-prison.html

But a few months after that first public hearing, the U.S. Justice Department opened a federal civil rights probe. nj.com/politics/2018/… It ended up taking just under two years.

My sources were skeptical that the DOJ would find anything that wasn't already public, and further worried it would be a whitewash. It turned out to be a scathing indictment of every level of oversight at the prison.

Let's look at some of their findings. content.govdelivery.com/attachments/US…

(WARNING: some of these descriptions of alleged abuse are graphic.)

First of all, the U.S. Attorney and Justice Department found that systemic indifference to credible claims of sexual abuse had created a self-perpetuating cycle of criminal behavior by sworn law enforcement officers and civilian staff.

A “culture of acceptance” allows gut-wrenching stuff like this to happen, according to federal investigators.

Compounding the trauma of sexual abuse, when inmates do report it, they are placed in "Temporary
Closed Custody" (TCC). Corrections officials say it's for their protection. Feds found it's indistinguishable from the isolation used to punish prisoners for breaking rules.

Here's just one story about what happened to a women who reported sexual abuse.

After the feds raised concerns about this practice, the DOC made minor changes. Conditions are slightly better, but they still do this *today*

The DOJ report assails the prison system, supervising officers, internal investigators, administrators and state leaders. Let's examine those allegations.

One of the big things DOC has touted since my first investigation was the number of cameras it's installed. I have found over and again that they have overplayed their benefit. Cameras are good! They keep everybody accountable. BUT.

As for officers? Generally, the majority at any law enforcement agency do their jobs honorably and are unfairly judged by the behavior of bad apples. But here? Some officers dismissed claims sex abuse was even a problem. Hardly any - if any - reported abuse by their colleagues.

What about internal investigators? The head of their union told me: “We’ve been petitioning management for a long time to have additional staff at Edna Mahan, and they just haven’t complied with it."

The feds found internal probes are rife with conflicts of interest.

Here's how things are going there (SID = Special Investigations Division).

SID's hotline came up on caller ID as "Snitch Line." Feds said this nickname is "problematic and emblematic of the
problems with the reporting systems at Edna Mahan."

Surely administrators can detect and stop bad behavior, no? Feds report: "During our on-site review, some Edna Mahan administrators and staff opined that the culture had not changed and that a code of silence persisted to discourage reporting sexual abuse."

What's next? The feds have recommended 19 "minimal remedial measures." If they aren't met in less than two months, the DOJ could sue. Taxpayers would be on the hook for a problem state leaders have known about for decades.

Here's the most @GovMurphy's office has had to say about it.