Murphy appoints three to corrections ombudsperson’s advisory board

Gov. Phil Murphy announced three appointments to the corrections ombudsperson’s advisory board, filling seats that have remained vacant since Murphy signed the January 2020 law creating the positions.

ACLU New Jersey staff attorney Tess Borden will join the body, as will family law attorney Carolyn Chang and former Superior Court Judge Edward Neafsey.

“I am proud to appoint these exceptional individuals to the Advisory Board of the Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson,” Murphy said. “The Board’s work and oversight is critically important in ensuring that the state’s inmate population is treated with the humanity, respect, and dignity they deserve.”

The appointments come amid upheaval at the Department of Corrections in the wake of inmate beatings at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility that have raised the specter of a federal takeover of the long-troubled women’s prison.

Before joining the bench, Neafsey was a deputy attorney general who prosecuted corrections officers later found guilty of official misconduct and assaulting inmates.

Ten guards and supervisors at Edna Mahan face similar charges for their alleged roles in violent cell extractions on Jan. 11 and 12.

Borden previously worked at Human Rights Watch. She also worked for the International Criminal Tribunal that weighed war crimes charges related to conflict in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Chang served as a township committeewoman in Westampton, including a three-year stint as the township’s mayor.

“I am confident that these nominees will serve honorably and deliver recommendations for much needed reform in our state prisons,” Murphy said.

It’s not clear whether the appointments will mean much in the immediate future. Corrections Ombudsman Dan DiBenedetti announced he would resign in August after a poor showing before a joint hearing of the Assembly Judiciary and Women and Children Committees last month.

Though he remains in his post, the ombudsman has taken extended leave. It’s not clear whether he’ll return before his resignation becomes effective on Aug. 1.