Indictment of former Edna Mahan women’s prison officers and officials dismissed by court

An indictment against more than a dozen people who worked at the now shuttered Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for women were dismissed Thursday by a judge in Hunterdon County.

The employees, including corrections officers and facility officials, were accused of the coordinated beating of inmates during “forced extractions” in a high-security wing of the prison in 2021.

The incident was among those that led to a criminal inquiry and Gov. Phil Murphy moving to close the troubled prison .

The indictment was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the same charges cannot be refiled against the defendants.

State Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Garrenger listed deficiencies in the superseding indictment, defendants’ arguments and delays in getting to a trial as some of the reasons for