Women’s Prison Plagued by Sexual Violence to Close, Governor Says

Gov. Philip D. Murphy said that he would shut down Edna Mahan, New Jersey’s only women’s prison, because of a “long history of abusive incidents.”

The only women’s prison in New Jersey will close after female inmates endured years of sexual assault by guards and were subjected to a violent nighttime raid in January, Gov. Philip D. Murphy announced Monday. The decision comes months after a midnight cell extraction at the prison, Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, left several women with serious injuries and led to the arrest of at least 10 correction officers and supervisors. But some advocates for prisoners criticized the move by Mr. Murphy, arguing that the closing does not address the systemic issues they say have plagued the women’s prison, located in the western part of the state.