“My administration is ushering in a new era in corrections with safety and rehabilitation at its core to maintain safety within our facilities,” Hicks told the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Thursday, his first public testimony since state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced in February he charged prison guards at Edna Mahan with misconduct in an attack on inmates. The women’s attorneys said in a statement that the negotiations were protracted and difficult, but added that the settlement along with other reforms will allow them “to turn the page on this difficult chapter.” Not probed during the hearing in any detail were the events of the Jan. 11 and 12 attack on inmates, as described by Grewal, because of an ongoing criminal investigation that so far has resulted in charges against eight prison guards — all but one of them men — and spurred calls for Hicks’ resignation.