Group checks Glouco jail for paranormal activity

Etched into the chipping paint on the cinder-block walls in the Gloucester County Jail are the thoughts and drawings and expletives of prisoners who have come and gone. Words like

Freedom.

As it stands, the recently closed jail in Woodbury - used now for storage and office space - doesn't have much of an afterlife. But some think its former occupants might.

A Salem County paranormal research group spent the weekend testing that theory with 13 night-vision cameras, audio recorders, and a slew of other specialized equipment familiar to viewers of shows like Ghost Hunters.

Albeit a far cry from the likes of Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, the Gloucester jail, which closed in June, does have its own place in county history.

But the dozen members of the Jersey Unique Minds Paranormal Society who convened after sunset Friday spoke mostly about the deaths that happened in the building - namely a handful of suicides in recent years.

In the decades the jail operated since opening in the early 1980s, it was not without controversy - grappling with criticism over a staph infection breakout and the 2003 death of an inmate, a 32-year-old hospital aide with schizophrenia who died after a scuffle with officers. That placed a critical lens on the jail.

Though a medical examiner ruled the inmate died from "positional asphyxiation" and a grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges against any officers, the death brought changes in jail oversight, including revamped camera monitoring.

Ultimately, though, officials closed the jail to trim costs. Running it cost about $28 million a year.

The county saved $3.1 million in 2013, officials said, and the saving is estimated to increase to $10 million per year by 2016.

The jail had about 240 adult male inmates when it closed; for years, juvenile and female offenders have been housed in neighboring counties' facilities.

The adult male inmates are now housed in the Salem, Cumberland, and Burlington County jails. Gloucester County also has a contract with Essex County, but County Administrator Chad Bruner said no inmates from Gloucester were currently at that jail.

The county jail closure marked a first in the state.

"I think you're going to see more and more counties" follow Gloucester's lead, Bruner said.

There are no plans for the property, he said.

Woodbury Mayor Bill Volk, who said he admired the way freeholders saved taxpayer dollars, added that he'd love to see something at the site to attract people to the city, but he had no specific hopes.

"The building, and the purpose for the building, that's really up to the county," he said.

Bruner said the property would be expensive to convert to offices, adding that many areas are not accessible to the handicapped.

In addition to storing filing cabinets, desks, and chairs, the building still houses some offices for nearly 60 corrections officers and support staff.

Though the jail was closed despite much criticism, and in the face of a suit filed by the state Public Defender's Office that remains in Burlington County Superior Court, the battle appears to be waning.

"I would expect it to be eventually dismissed or withdrawn," Bruner said of the suit.

Dale Jones, an assistant public defender, said Friday: "The counties by and large have done a fairly good job in terms of producing our clients . . . both for attorney meetings and court appearances.

"We were somewhat skeptical that they would be able to do it, but they have thus far," he said.

The office is still trying to negotiate some conditions with the county.

Jones contended Gloucester County clients are often shackled for long periods, sometimes 10 to 12 hours, when they have meetings or court appearances. He attributed the issue to a decrease in corrections officers.

A letter regarding the shackling complaint is expected to be filed with Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder. The county did not return a follow-up request for comment on the matter.

And though the inmates are gone, much of the jail appears untouched. Bed structures, cleaning supplies, and computers remain.

An electronic control panel in a second-floor control room flickered with life Friday evening. The paranormal society set up a base in the room, the single bulb of a dusty ceiling fan providing light.

Members alternated monitoring the live video feeds, watching their cohorts span the dark jail, and measuring and soliciting perceived paranormal activity.

For Deborah Free, a 30-year corrections veteran and lieutenant who retired from the jail in 2012, the chilling quiet behind the walls Friday could only be described as "weird."

Free attended the investigation with a fellow former corrections officer who is with the paranormal group.

"I'm open-minded," Free, of a National Park, said. "There's probably a lot of residual energy."

Doug Hogate Jr., a 28-year-old 911 dispatcher and the group's founder, said Saturday some members had reported unexplained bangs and taps, slams and knocks, during the nine-hour visit. A smaller group was to return Saturday night.

Hogate said reviewing the evidence would likely take about three weeks, but he anticipated something paranormal was left behind.

"I'm sure there have been so many emotions that have run through that place," Hogate said. "Energy gets trapped there within those walls."