Stanley Richards, who did time in the 1980s for robbery, will be the first former inmate to serve as corrections commissioner.<\/p>\n
“Stanley will make history in this role as the first ever formerly incarcerated person to serve as commissioner,” Mamdani said. “I will turn to Stanley as we work to build a city where justice is at the heart of our corrections system,” the mayor added.<\/p>\n
Richards was convicted of robbery in the late 1980s and served roughly two and a half years on Rikers Island before spending an additional four and a half years in state prison, according to reporting from Gothamist<\/a> and NY1. He was released in 1991.<\/p>\n MAMDANI APPOINTS CONVICTED ARMED ROBBER TO PUBLIC SAFETY TRANSITION TEAM<\/a><\/p>\n Stanley Richards speaks during a press conference New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted in Brooklyn on Saturday, Jan. 31. (New York City Mayor’s Office)<\/p>\n In his first remarks as commissioner, Richards aligned himself closely with Mamdani\u2019s vision and rejected what he described as a punishment-centered approach to incarceration.<\/p>\n “Today we turn the page and we start a new era under Mayor Mamdani<\/a>,” Richards said.<\/p>\n MAMDANI SIGNALS DISBANDING NYPD PROTEST UNIT, CALLS FOR HIGHER TAXES ON TOP 1% AMID BUDGET RECKONING<\/a><\/p>\n New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives at the subway station in the Queens borough to go to City Hall in New York, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n Richards also pointed to his experience within the correctional system, including serving as first deputy commissioner of programs and operations at the Department of Correction and as vice chair of the Board of Correction\u2019s Task Force to Close Rikers.<\/p>\n A security fence surrounds the inmate housing on New York’s Rikers Island correctional facility in New York.\u00a0 (AP\/Bebeto Matthews)<\/p>\n The appointment comes as New York City\u2019s jail system remains under heightened federal scrutiny<\/a>. Earlier this week, a federal judge appointed an outside remediation manager to oversee reforms at Rikers Island after years of violence, staff shortages and federal court findings that city leadership failed to fix conditions inside the jails. Rikers was originally set to be demolished by August 2027<\/a> by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.<\/p>\n Asked whether he had spoken with the remediation manager, Mamdani said his administration had already been in contact and emphasized cooperation.<\/p>\n![\"Stanley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/stanley-richards.jpg\")
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