Fortune Society executive transforms Rikers Island leadership
Stanley Richards, former Fortune Society executive and formerly incarcerated person, becomes corrections commissioner under Mamdani. The appointment, announced January 31, 2026, makes Richards the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the NYC Department of Corrections. His selection represents recognition that those with lived experience of incarceration bring irreplaceable perspective to criminal justice reform.
Mass Incarceration and Carceral Reform
The DOC operates Rikers Island, the notorious detention complex holding people awaiting trial and serving short sentences. Rikers has faced decades of litigation over violence, abuse, and inhumane conditions. Closing Rikers and building smaller borough-based jails is ongoing, with a court-appointed monitor overseeing compliance. Richards enters this already-constrained environment.
Fortune Society Background
Richards has worked with the Fortune Society, an organization led by and serving formerly incarcerated people. The organization provides reentry support, advocacy, and community building for people coming out of prison. Richards’ work embodies the perspective that incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people have expertise in criminal justice reform.
Leadership Amid Reform Mandates
Richards inherits a department where a federal monitor has authority to order reforms and operations. He must navigate this constraint while advancing the mayor’s criminal justice reform agenda. The Mamdani administration has signaled commitment to reducing incarceration and improving conditionsobjectives compatible with Richards’ background but challenging to implement.
Reducing Incarceration
Mamdani has called for reduced incarceration, particularly of people experiencing homelessness or mental health crises. The DOC cannot independently reduce incarcerationthat requires City Council action to change bail systems, decriminalization of low-level offenses, and increased diversion programs. However, the DOC can manage conditions, reentry preparation, and department culture toward rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Reentry and Community Integration
People returning from incarceration face significant barriers: employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and community stigma. The DOC can improve reentry preparation and coordinate with social services. However, systemic discrimination remains beyond the department’s control.
Criminal Justice System Context
Richards leads one department in a much larger system. Police make arrests, prosecutors decide charges, judges set bail and determine sentences, and the DOC manages custody. Real criminal justice transformation requires changes across all these systems. For corrections information, see the NYC Department of Corrections. Learn about incarceration alternatives at Close the Prisons. Read reentry advocacy at Fortune Society. Understand criminal justice reform via Prison Policy Initiative.
