Bipartisan group of 20 legislators sign onto impeachment resolution for Murphy official

TRENTON, N.J. – 20 legislators including Republicans and Democrats have agreed to co-sponsor Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield’s articles of impeachment aimed at embattled Department of Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks. 

“Momentum is building behind the impeachment of Commissioner Hicks,” said Stanfield (R-8). “People realize that he is not going to step down on his own, and the resolutions put forth by the legislature calling for Hicks to resign are not working. We must force Governor Murphy’s hand with an actionable item like impeachment.”

“A new report released yesterday by the state shows Edna Mahan being flooded with complaints in recent months; far outpacing any other prison. The situation is not getting better. Women are suffering, and they need us to act,” Stanfield added. 

The resolution alleges significant constitutional violations on Hicks’s watch; thirty-one employees were suspended in February following one harrowing incident during which a female inmate was allegedly handcuffed and “beaten so badly by four guards that ligaments ripped in her knee.

Governor Murphy has nevertheless refused to demand Hicks’s resignation, a move which prompted Stanfield (a former sheriff) act.

“How is it acceptable that the Governor’s only answer to this is to launch another investigation? What more proof do we need? Nearly every New Jersey lawmaker has called for Hicks’ resignation, so if they are true to their word, we have the power to make it happen,” Stanfield concluded.

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