City Hall – Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rules Committee Chair Brad Lander and the New York City Council today announced the Council Rules Committee will propose the nomination of Stanley Richards to the New York City Board of Correction.
Stanley Richards, a Senior Vice President at the Fortune Society, has over 20 years of experience helping formerly incarcerated individuals with their re-entry to society. Bringing a wealth of professional experience in re-entry assistance, as well as his own personal experience with the correction system as a formerly incarcerated individual, Mr. Richards would offer unique perspective to the Board of Correction.
“The Council is proud to nominate Stanley Richards to serve on the Board of Correction, where his unique perspective of personal experience with the criminal justice system will provide needed oversight and transparency to New York City’s jail system,” said Speaker Mark-Viverito. “Stanley is an exemplary member of the community who has dedicated his career to helping the formerly incarcerated successfully transition back into society and the Council looks forward to working with Stanley and the entire Board of Correction as we work together to improve the conditions of New York City’s jails.”
“Stanley Richards will bring a new and much-needed perspective to the Board of Correction,” said Rules Committee Chair Brad Lander. “As the first formerly-incarcerated person to be nominated by the City Council to the NYC Board of Correction, he will offer insights that for far too long have gone unheard. As an individual who has experienced incarceration first-hand and gone on not only to successfully rejoin society, but to take leadership in helping others individually and making systemic change, Stanley is uniquely qualified to help craft policies that will be effective in making re-entry a success for those going through the correction system.”
“As someone with more than two decades’ experience helping to guide one of the country’s leading reentry programs and a personal experience of incarceration, Stanley Richards will bring a fresh perspective to the Board of Corrections,” said NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm. “I am proud to have nominated Stanley for this position. Stanley’s appointment to the Board represents a promise of justice to all individuals yet to pass through the gates of Rikers Island and our other jails – that their voices will finally be heard and taken seriously. ”
“As a formerly incarcerated man, I am honored and humbled to be nominated to serve on the New York City Board of Correction,” said Stanley Richards. “My personal experience with incarceration, coupled with my decades-long career at The Fortune Society helping thousands of people who have been in City jails, give me a singular insight on important correctional issues that I am eager to share with other Board members. I would like to thank Speaker Mark-Viverito, Rules Committee Chair Council Member Lander and Council Member Dromm for their commitment to improving oversight of and conditions in our City jail system.”
“Stanley Richards’ work with the Fortune Society makes him a qualified candidate for the Council nomination to become a part of New York City’s Board of Correction,” said New York City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer. “As the Vice President of the Fortune Society and a formerly incarcerated New Yorker himself, he will provide valuable contributions toward improving our City’s prison system and ensuring former inmates are provided the support they need to become productive members of our community. Because of Stanley’s work I have witnessed the Fortune Society improve the lives of countless New Yorkers. I am proud to support this nomination and even prouder to represent the Fortune Society in Long Island City.”
“The Fortune Society’s flagship home, The Castle in West Harlem is in my council district, so I have the pleasure of working with Stanley on a regular basis. He is an inspirational and incredibly effective leader, whose voice will undoubtedly enhance the discourse on the New York City Board of Corrections. I couldn’t be more supportive of this nomination,” said Council Member Mark Levine.
“Stanley Richards has unique experience in the criminal justice field. As a formerly incarcerated person himself, he will bring a new perspective to the board that will help improve our City’s criminal justice system,” said Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. “His work with the Fortune Society additionally highlights his ability to provide good alternatives to incarceration and help the transition back into society. I look forward to working with Stanley to enact meaningful reforms that promote a safer environment for all inmates and staff.”
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