Inmate Dies At Embattled Essex County Prison: Officials

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An inmate died at Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark earlier this week, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Jose Recoba-Morales, an inmate at the county-run prison, passed away on Monday, March 18, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Essex County Correctional Facility houses a mix of inmates with criminal convictions and federal detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Recoba-Morales was not an ICE detainee, a spokesperson with the agency said.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death; no additional information was immediately available.

The prison – which rakes in millions of dollars for housing ICE detainees and out-of-county inmates – has recently come under fire for several alleged health and safety violations, as well as suicide risks to mentally ill inmates.

• See related article: Jail Served Us Meatballs That Smelled Like Feces, Essex County Inmate Says
• See related article: Maggots, Squalor For ICE Detainees At 3 'Inhumane' NJ Jails

Earlier this month, the brother of an East Newark man who hung himself in August 2018 while imprisoned at the jail filed a lawsuit against the county, the former warden, Charles Green, and the prison's corporate healthcare provider, CFG Health Systems.

• See related article: Mentally Ill Inmate Hung Himself While In Straitjacket, Family Says

Local activists have been holding protests and rallies decrying the county's contract with ICE for years.

• See related article: Anti-ICE Christmas Carolers Crash Freeholder Meeting (VIDEO)
• See related article: More Oversight, No ICE At Essex County Prison, Activists Demand

Last week, after a scathing inspection report of the prison from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was released last month, the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders' public safety subcommittee called a meeting to discuss conditions at the facility.

• See related article: Essex County Plans To Use ICE Profits To Give Inmates Lawyers

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