A federal judge on Tuesday appointed Nick Deml, the former head of Vermont’s prison system, to take over Rikers Island, the troubled New York City jail.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain wrote in her order that within 21 days Deml and city officials should submit a plan outlining how the two parties will work together, including compensation, staffing for Deml’s team and a preliminary budget.
Last year, Swain decided to take control of Rikers Island away from the city and appoint an outside official to oversee the facility.
The official, called a “remediation manager,” would report directly to the court and “be empowered to take all necessary” actions to address the “ongoing violations of constitutional rights” of people in the jail, Swain wrote in her May 2025 order.
Deml stepped down as Vermont’s corrections commissioner last summer after nearly four years on the job. At the time, he told Vermont Public he planned to start a consulting firm.
His new appointment, first reported by the New York Times, is the latest in a decade-long effort to address allegations of excessive force and violence by staff against people held in New York City jails. A 2015 settlement requires the city to develop new policies to protect incarcerated people, but the reforms have progressed at a “glacial pace,” an independent monitor wrote in a report this month.
Deml didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
During his tenure as Vermont’s corrections commissioner, Deml had to address an uptick in prison deaths, as well as allegations that the department’s medical contractor didn’t provide adequate care.
Before coming to Vermont, Deml worked at the CIA for seven years. He also served as an aid to U.S. Senator Richard Durbin.
