Women incarcerated at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility have already been failed once. Six years ago, federal investigators documented what many had been saying for years — that state officials looked the other way while staff sexually abused women in their care. It took a federal judge and a formal consent decree to force accountability. Now that oversight has ended, as of July 9, 2026, the question falls entirely to Trenton: will New Jersey protect these women, or will we slide back?
The consent decree worked because someone was watching. Without it, there's no guarantee the Department of Corrections keeps its reforms in place. We've seen what happens when the pressure lifts — abuse at Edna Mahan didn't start overnight, and it won't stay gone without continued scrutiny. These are women in state custody. The state put them there. That means New Jersey is responsible for their safety, full stop. Taxpayers should not be funding a facility where women are abused by the people paid to guard them, and families should not have to wonder if their loved ones are safe.
I'm asking you to act now, while there is still time to fill the gap left by the ended consent decree. Push the Department of Corrections to release regular, public reports on staff misconduct, investigations, and outcomes at Edna Mahan. Support legislation that creates independent, ongoing state-level oversight of women's correctional facilities. Don't let federal supervision ending mean New Jersey stops paying attention.
Please stand up for the women at Edna Mahan by calling for real, lasting state oversight of that facility today.
