Broken bones, bloodied inmates: The inside story of a night of violence at N.J.’s women’s prison
Updated Feb 10, 2021;
Posted Feb 08, 2021
The attorney general announced charges Thursday against Edna Mahan corrections officer Luis Garcia, Sgt. Amir Bethea and Sgt. Anthony Valvano.
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The officers wore riot gear and carried shields and canisters of pepper spray, according to inmates and prosecutors. They moved from cell to cell in formations of five down the long hallway of a special housing unit at New Jersey’s only women’s prison.
They were there for a series of “cell extractions,” what normally are routine removals of unruly inmates as officers search for contraband.
New Jersey Officers Charged After Prison Inmates Allege Assault, Severe Beatings
On 2/4/21 at 4:04 PM EST
Three prison guards were charged Thursday with official misconduct in connection with abuse at a New Jersey women s prison, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced. Shortly before midnight on January 11, more than 2 dozen officers at Edna Mahan women s prison forcibly removed inmates from their cells, Grewal said in a tweet. As alleged in today s charges, the inmates were beaten and pepper-sprayed, in violation of state law and prison policy.
Luis Garcia, one of the officers involved in the cell extractions, was charged with striking a victim approximately 28 times without justification. Sergeants Amir Bethea and Anthony Valvano, two supervisors involved in the incident who oversaw the officers, were charged with official misconduct and tampering with public records.
Inmates: Boss of N.J. women’s prison part of alleged attack. He’s been sued before.
Updated Feb 01, 2021;
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An administrator in charge of New Jersey’s only women’s prison, who inmates and relatives say played a prominent role last month when some women said they were beaten by officers, previously was accused of at least three separate cases of misconduct.
Inmates have sued Associate Administrator Sean St. Paul at least three times in the past seven years, according to federal court records. One said St. Paul broke his arm. Two others said he refused to stop officers from abusing other prisoners.
The newspaper reviewed letters and firsthand accounts with advocates and relatives, in addition to speaking with Nelson in a Tuesday night interview from the prison.
A transgender woman incarcerated at the facility was beaten by a group of officers and three officers stomped on her head, her mother, Trimeka Rollins, told the newspaper. Her daughter’s knee was so badly damaged that she’s now using a wheelchair, Rollins said.
Nelson detailed the severity of the attack in her interview with the newspaper.
“They started throwing punches, throwing punches,” Nelson told NJ.com. “I am cuffed so I can’t defend myself. I can’t stop the punches from coming. All I know is they got me to the floor and they started stomping my head. I started getting dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. Then they grabbed my arm and bent my arm back. I heard it crack and I felt it crack. I tried to look up and look at my arm. As soon as I looked up, I got kicked in my face with a boot. My