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Q&A
Zachary Katznelson details the diverse expertise of the Independent Rikers Commission members
0:18:18
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139 sec
Zachary Katznelson, Executive Director of the Independent Commission on NYC Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, provides a comprehensive overview of the commission's membership and their diverse backgrounds.
- Highlights members like Stanley Richards and Leo Diaz as examples of the commission's expertise
- Describes the wide range of professionals involved, including business leaders, mental health experts, judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers
- Emphasizes the effort to include different perspectives, including those from communities around borough-based jails and law enforcement
Zachary Katznelson
0:18:18
Sure.
0:18:18
I think we when we were when the commission was reappointed by speaker Adams, we really
Jonathan Lippman
0:18:24
And introduce our two members who are here with us.
0:18:27
Sure.
Zachary Katznelson
0:18:27
We have Stanley Richards and Leo Diaz who are both indicative of the expertise and experience we have on the commission.
0:18:36
Just briefly, they can speak a bit more about their own qualities, but Leo, for instance, has worked in corrections for over three decades.
0:18:45
Stanley has a long career, both in terms of working as a service provider.
0:18:50
He's now the CEO and president of Fortune Society.
0:18:52
Also was the first deputy commissioner at the Department of Correction, is formally incarcerated himself.
0:19:01
We really made an effort to make as wide a tent as possible for the people that were on the commission, people from the business community like Kathy Wilde, people who run mental health agencies, like Jonathan McLean, who runs cases, Ken Zimmerman, who runs Fountain House, really trying to look at judges who understand operations work, prosecutors, defense lawyers, people who run mental health court Judge Demick, who runs mental health court in Brooklyn and has for decades really trying to make sure that different views and different input was there, that we built an advisory board made up of, for instance, people who live in the communities around the borough based jails, of people who are in law enforcement, police officers, really trying to bring in different voices and understand from different perspectives what goes into what has brought us to this day and how do we get out of this utter mess that we're in, a disaster that we're in at Rikers.
Jonathan Lippman
0:19:55
And let me just add that I personally urge people who don't really have the time, you know, to get into these commissions, which are endless meetings and subcommittees and, you know, looking at all the data because it was so necessary to get this broad constituency.
0:20:12
So when you saw the report, you understood that it came not because judge Lipman woke up this morning and said, Zach, let's include this, that, and the other thing in the report.
0:20:23
This represented thousands of hours of dedicated people who understand these issues.
0:20:29
I'd ask, Stanley and commissioner to add to it about the work he's had commissioned.
0:20:35
How did we get to where we are today?
0:20:37
Sure.