Story perspectives

Former Inmate Named Corrections Commissioner to Slash Jail Population

4/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed former inmate Stanley Richards as city Correction commissioner in February, first formerly incarcerated leader of jails.
Richards will work with remediation manager Nicholas Deml to meet the 2027 Rikers closure deadline.
Richards opened a Bellevue Hospital unit for 100 inmates with mental-health needs, and aims to fill 1,300 vacancies, enforce solitary-confinement limits to cut violence and reduce the 6,700-inmate population.

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Story summary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed former inmate Stanley Richards as city Correction commissioner in February, first formerly incarcerated leader of jails.
Richards will work with remediation manager Nicholas Deml to meet the 2027 Rikers closure deadline.
Richards opened a Bellevue Hospital unit for 100 inmates with mental-health needs, and aims to fill 1,300 vacancies, enforce solitary-confinement limits to cut violence and reduce the 6,700-inmate population.