New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”
by Douglas Ankney
After more than a dozen New Jersey guards were arrested on charges of assaulting and sexually abusing incarcerated women at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility (“EMCF”) in what may plausibly be termed “cell-extraction nacht,” state Governor Phil Murphy (D) ordered EMCF be closed and replaced in 2021. Now, the New Jersey legislature has passed the Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act (“Act”). See: New Jersey Assembly Bill No. 4694.
Some innovative, wise steps and some common-sense steps of the Act include:
The establishment of a gender responsive risk and needs assessment as part of the institutional classification process based upon the development of “policies, practices, and programs that are relational and promote healthy connections to children, family, significant others, and the community.” These programs will tackle “substance abuse disorders, trauma, and mental health issues through comprehensive, integrated and culturally relevant services and appropriate supervision.”
The establishment of a Division of Women’s Services within the Department of Corrections to, inter alia, “develop policies, programs, and services to address … the specific needs of female incarcerated persons including treatment for physical or sexual abuse or other trauma; parenting issues; and child reunification”; and the establishment of a Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Compliance Unit charged with holding the Department of Corrections accountable for compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, 34 U.S.C. § 30301.
Another provision addresses the needs of incarcerated pregnant persons through the provision of doula services during labor and childbirth, prenatal care and parenting classes.
A requirement that correctional officers receive 40 hours of in-service training annually with four hours of the training devoted to the terminology and provisions of PREA to include “confidentiality requirements related to reports of sexual abuse or sexual harassment of an incarcerated person and how to access emotional support services for incarcerated persons who are victims of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.”
A requirement that “information regarding sexual abuse and sexual harassment of incarcerated persons to be provided to every incarcerated person at orientation upon intake and periodically thereafter.”
The Act passed on the last voting day of state lawmakers’ two-year session with an Assembly vote of 67-6 (six Republicans voted against it) and a Senate vote of 39-0.
In response to Murphy’s closure order, construction of a new 420-bed state prison for women, costing (so far) an estimated $310 million, began in October 2025 in Chesterfield, where the incarcerated persons from EMCF will relocate upon completion.
With regard to the guards arrested for brutally assaulting the female prisoners, sadly but unsurprisingly, a state judge dismissed their criminal indictment in October 2025, citing “deficiencies in the indictment and the state’s four-year delay in preparing the case for trial.”
There is a saying among the incarcerated population that the term “justice” system means “just us.” It is “just us” who “pay the price” and the above dismissal of charges gives credence to that view.
Additional Source: New Jersey Monitor
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