Mayor Vincent C. Gray Swears in Members of the Newly Re-established Corrections Information Council

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray today swore in board members for the newly re-established Corrections Information Council (CIC), which serves to monitor and inspect the conditions of confinement of District of Columbia residents.

“From the outset of my administration, one of my priorities has been to re-establish the Corrections Information Council, which will ensure the best possible rehabilitative conditions for our incarcerated residents at facilities here and across the nation,” Mayor Gray said.

With the passage of the National Capital and Self-Government Act of 1997, the DC Department of Corrections (DOC) transferred their felon population previously housed in the Lorton Correctional Complex to US Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities. As of March 31, 2012, roughly 6,000 DC inmates are housed in various BOP facilities across the nation. The states with the highest DC inmate population are North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The CIC governing board members sworn in today are Michelle Bonner and Samuel Whittaker, nominated by the Mayor, and Katherine Huffman, nominated by the DC Council. The board’s task is to inspect the conditions of confinement and inmate access to rehabilitative services. To reach their goal, the board will visit facilities housing DC inmates under DOC and BOP jurisdiction, and in turn, produce yearly reports to inform the community of their findings. Thus far, DOC and BOP have both made commitments to help the CIC in accomplishing its mission.

With support from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and Councilmember Phil Mendelson, Mayor Gray took the lead in re-establishing the long dormant CIC.

Each member will serve a term of up to two years, with the possibility of being reappointed.

Michelle R. Bonner is Director of Legal Services for Our Place DC. She has lived and practiced criminal law in the District for the last 15 years. At Our Place DC, a non-profit that provides legal and other social services to presently and formerly incarcerated women within the DOC and BOP facilities, she represents her clients in civil matters, such as divorce, child custody and civil-protection hearings. Ms. Bonner also provides numerous other direct legal services and legal education to presently incarcerated women in the DC Department of Corrections and Federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as to formerly incarcerated women in the community.

Katherine Huffman is Principal of the Raben Group, a public-policy strategy and communications firm based in the District. She leads teams to assist clients in identifying their policy goals, developing short- and long-term strategic plans, building organizational programming and resources, expanding coalition partnerships and implementing public and policymaker educational and lobbying campaigns. Katharine began her legal career as a civil rights litigator and Soros Justice Fellow at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, where she focused on prison and jail conditions issues in the southeastern United States.

The Rev. Samuel Whitaker is Senior Pastor of Contee African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. As a pastor in Ward 7’s Deanwood community, Rev. Whittaker has seen and pastored many returning citizens from incarceration. His passion is to help all who are willing to have a second chance at becoming a positive force in the community where they live and are often forgotten or discarded by society.