The Open Public Records Act was used to show just how pervasive racist text messages were among some Camden County corrections officers.
While the content of racist text messages exchanged among some corrections officers at the Camden County Jail is unpalatable, the county's NAACP branch performed a valuable and enlightening service by getting the messages to the public this week.
Using the state's Open Public Records Act (OPRA), the NAACP branch successfully appealed an administrative ruling that had kept secret texts that were key evidence in the firing of former corrections officer Thomas McNulty last year. NAACP lawyers argued that once the texts, as well as an internal affairs interview with McNulty, were used in a hearing to decide whether or not the officer would lose his job, the items became public record.
Here's why the outcome is important: This country is seeing a largely undeserved backlash against "political correctness." Yes, sensitivity to perceived slights can run amok, as it has on some college campuses to the degree that comedians Bill Maher and Chris Rock won't play there any more. Something they say is bound to offend someone. Performers -- as well as some serious speakers -- have no desire to run through a speech-police gauntlet.
At Yale University last fall, a criticism of overly restrictive Halloween costume guidelines practically had a student banished. Everybody can cite an example of extreme political correctness to the point of absurdity. The McNulty case is not such an example, and that's an important distinction.
McNulty's defenders can cite him as victim of free-speech censorship, a view that will win some sympathy in the current climate. Indeed, in his own internal affairs interview, the officer suggests that his texts referring to the warden with the "n-word" were meant "in a humorous way."
Thanks to the NAACP, we now know that McNulty and others involved are something other than benign jailhouse Jerry Seinfelds. A torrent of racial epithets flowed among nine non-minority staff members within more than 5,700 texts, photos and videos during a short period in 2014. Beer bottles dressed up in Ku Klux Klan outfits were especially revealing.
Klan sympathizers among prison officers posed a problem in Cumberland County's state correctional facilities a few years back. If this type of thing has resurfaced at one of our county jails, the situation needs to be addressed.
Camden County officials, who had initially opposed release of the materials, now say they also wanted them disclosed. In fact, the items bolster the case against McNulty, as well as the county corrections department's stated resolve to remove "rogue" officers, and make sure others are properly trained.
This is an instance where OPRA worked as intended. It demonstrates the value of New Jersey's law, which should be strengthened. And, it demonstrates that systematic racist discourse is not, as McNulty put it, "all in good humor."
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