AR220

An Assembly Resolution adopting articles of impeachment in the matter of Marcus Hicks, providing for the presentation of articles to the Senate, and impeaching Marcus Hicks.

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

Whereas, Through his actions and inactions as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), particularly as they relate to the federal investigation into the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, Marcus Hicks is responsible for the violation of prisoners’ civil rights, which are protected by State and federal law; and

Whereas, As the chief official for the NJDOC, Commissioner Hicks failed to take reasonable measures to protect and guarantee the safety of inmates under his charge in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution; and

Whereas, Commissioner Hicks failed to take reasonable measures to guarantee that inmates under his charge would not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution; and

Whereas, Commissioner Hicks has violated the public trust insofar as the Commissioner’s “core focus” and duty to the public is supposed to be “ensuring safety across facilities and the holistic rehabilitation of offenders,” according to the NJDOC’s official website; and

Whereas, The United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, issued a report in April 2020 detailing its investigation of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, concluding: “the State of New Jersey, through the New Jersey Department of Corrections, fails to keep prisoners at Edna Mahan safe from sexual abuse by staff;” and

Whereas, The report further concluded on page 27: “Edna Mahan suffers from a ‘culture of acceptance’ of sexual abuse, which has enabled abuse to persist despite years of notice and efforts towards change at the State level. [. . .] [T]his ‘pervasive culture’ gives staff the opportunity and audacity to abuse their authority by ‘preying on vulnerable women . . . for sexual gratification.’ Both NJDOC and Edna Mahan have been reactionary to the multiple criminal indictments, civil lawsuits, and press garnered around prior staff sexual abuse of Edna Mahan prisoners. If NJDOC and Edna Mahan do not effectively address the systemic deficiencies that led to the criminal sexual abuse revealed by the staff indictments, practices will continue at Edna Mahan that will likely result in continued sexual abuse of the women incarcerated there;” and

Whereas, Now, nearly eleven months since the report was provided to Governor Murphy and other New Jersey officials, it is believed that the abuse of prisoners at Edna Mahan has indeed continued; and

Whereas, Prior to the issuance of the Department of Justice report in April of 2020, and in response to the media’s investigative reporting into court records which revealed instances of inmate abuse by staff at Edna Mahan dating back to 2012, the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee held a hearing on February 22, 2018, during which the Committee solicited testimony “concerning allegations of sexual abuse at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women,” and

Whereas, Following the issuance of the Department of Justice report, the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee held a hearing on May 12, 2020, during which the Committee solicited testimony “from invited guests concerning the results of the investigation of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women by the United States Department of Justice, and discuss the causes and consequences of sexual abuse at the facility;” and

Whereas, Commissioner Hicks did not appear at either hearing despite the NJDOC receiving notice of the time, date, and subject matter of both hearings, and no testimony was submitted on behalf of the NJDOC, whether live or written; and

Whereas, Most recently, Attorney General Grewal announced criminal charges against three Edna Mahan correctional officers in connection with an incident that took place on January 11, 2021, which left one inmate with a concussion and another with a broken bone near her eye; and

Whereas, Numerous members of the Legislature have called for the resignation or removal of Commissioner Hicks from his leadership position within the NJDOC; and

Whereas, The NJDOC is the State's second-largest Department; Commissioner Hicks is responsible for a budget of nearly $1 billion and 8,000 employees; Commissioner Hicks oversees approximately 20,000 State-sentenced offenders housed across 12 correctional facilities, county jails and community halfway houses, and

Whereas, The actions and inactions of Commissioner Hicks, particularly as they relate to the federal investigation into the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, and the Commissioner’s disregard for the civil rights of inmates under his charge, are incompatible with the responsibilities and duties owed to the public by the Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Corrections; now, therefore,

1. The General Assembly, incorporating and adopting the above recitations as if stated fully herein, determines that Commissioner Hicks has engaged in a pattern and practice of disregarding and violating the civil rights of inmate populations under his ultimate charge, and hereby adopts the following articles of impeachment:

I. Through his actions and inactions as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), Marcus Hicks is responsible for the violation of prisoners’ civil rights, which are protected by State and federal law pursuant to the New Jersey Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. s.1983, respectively.

II. As the chief official for the NJDOC, Commissioner Hicks failed to take reasonable measures to protect and guarantee the safety of inmates under his charge, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

III. As the chief official for the NJDOC, Commissioner Hicks failed to take reasonable measures to guarantee that inmates under his charge would not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

IV. As the chief official for the NJDOC, Commissioner Hicks has violated the public trust and his oath of allegiance taken pursuant to R.S.41:1-1.

2. In accordance with New Jersey Constitution, Article VII, Section III, paragraph 2, by a majority vote of all the members, the General Assembly hereby impeaches Marcus Hicks.

3. The Speaker of the General Assembly shall appoint a committee, of sufficient number, to act as managers for the purpose of presenting these articles of impeachment to the Senate forthwith.

4. This resolution shall take effect upon its adoption by this House.

STATEMENT

This Assembly Resolution adopts articles of impeachment in the matter of Marcus Hicks, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, and provides for the presentation of articles to the Senate, and impeaches Marcus Hicks.

In light of his record of disregarding prisoners’ civil rights, violating the public trust, and violating his oath of allegiance as Commissioner for the NJDOC, it is altogether fitting and proper and within the public interest for the General Assembly to adopt articles of impeachment against Marcus Hicks, and present the articles to the New Jersey Senate in accordance with New Jersey Constitution, Article VII, Section III, paragraph 2.