A probe into the practices at the Edna Mahan Correction Facility for Women in the US state of New Jersey has found that systemic deficiencies in running the facility allowed for sexual abuse of the prisoners to take place, the Justice Department said on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th August, 2021) A probe into the practices at the Edna Mahan Correction Facility for Women in the US state of New Jersey has found that systemic deficiencies in running the facility allowed for sexual abuse of the prisoners to take place, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
"Our civil rights investigation revealed systemic and long-standing deficiencies in training, supervision and reporting at Edna Mahan, deficiencies that allowed the sexual abuse of prisoners to occur unabated," Acting US Attorney Rachael Honig said.
The investigation began in April of 2018 and two years later the Justice Department provided New Jersey with written notice of the alleged unlawful conditions and remedial measures necessary to address them. The Justice Department concluded there is reasonable cause to believe the institutions violated the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution by failing to protect prisoners from sexual abuse by staff.
The investigation prompted on Tuesday the US Attorney's Office and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to file a complaint and a proposed consent decree with the state of New Jersey and the state's Department of Corrections concerning the facility.
If approved by a Federal judge, the proposed consent decree would implement policies and practices within the New Jersey Department of Corrections to help ensure that prisoners are protected from sexual abuse through appropriate prisoner supervision, effective and confidential methods for reporting of sexual abuse and protections against retaliation for reporting sexual abuse.
Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the agreement addresses the systemic issues that have plagued the Edna Mahan correctional facility, ensures that women incarcerated there will receive the basic protections they are entitled to under the Constitution, and requires accountability through public transparency.
