A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday named a former Vermont corrections commissioner and ex-CIA officer to take the reins of New York City's troubled Rikers Island jail system as a "remediation manager," after yearslong efforts to clamp down on incidents of excessive force against the jail population.

Nicholas Deml, who has 15 years of federal and state government leadership experience, was selected after the court evaluated applicants, the judge's order said, noting that his name was going to remain private, but no party objected to publicly announcing him.

Deml, the city of New York and other defendants have been directed by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to meet promptly to discuss compensation as well as staffing for the remediation team, and within 21 days, the parties must confidentially update the court on their progress, or disagreements, the order said.

Judge Swain came to appoint Deml after declining to appoint a receiver with "sweeping powers," while also rebuffing the city's preferred remedy of granting the commissioner of the city's Department of Correction expanded authority to implement reforms to Rikers.

In a statement emailed to Law360, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's press secretary, Joe Calvello, said the mayor was looking forward to "working closely and collaboratively with the new remediation manager to improve conditions on Rikers Island."

"The mayor believes that our jail system must do better than the history of dysfunction and disorder that has plagued it for too long," Calvello said.

Judge Swain's oversight of Rikers stems from a 2015 consent judgment reached in a class action brought by The Legal Aid Society on behalf of current and former Rikers detainees who alleged a brutal culture of excessive force by Rikers correction officers.

Deml's appointment comes after the judge twice found the city and its Department of Correction in contempt of court orders in a case brought by Mark Nunez and other plaintiffs. In the latter decision, Judge Swain held in November that the defendants were in contempt with respect to 18 different court-ordered provisions.

When deciding upon a remediation manager rather than a receiver, Judge Swain repeatedly stressed the collaborative relationship the remediation manager is to have with the DOC, court filings show.

In a joint statement, Rikers plaintiffs' attorneys Mary Lynne Werlwas, director of the Prisoners' Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, and Debbie Greenberger, partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, called Deml's appointment "a historic step toward ending the egregious constitutional violations that incarcerated New Yorkers continue to endure each day in New York City jails."

The pair said that the court's decision to appoint Deml "reflects the court's recognition that incremental measures and past promises have failed to deliver the systemic change necessary to protect basic rights and human dignity."

The attorneys were heartened to hear Deml described "as a leader with fortitude, compassion, and political acumen — someone who can bring a steady hand and fresh ideas to a crisis."

Deml, who holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Illinois University, is managing director for corrections-related consulting firm Everly Bly & Co., the judge's order said.

He has also been an aide to U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank, and serves on the editorial board of Correctional News, according to the court.

Werlwas and Greenberger said they were hopeful that these "diverse" experiences would bolster his ability to succeed in remediating Rikers.

"Deml demonstrated in our conversations with him that he understands people in custody need real solutions to the dangerous dysfunction harming them — even, and especially, when those solutions require a break from the status quo," the pair said in their statement.

"This appointment represents a crossroads: a genuine and extraordinary opportunity to address the dangerous and unlawful conditions the City has failed to remedy across multiple administrations, multiple commissioners, and multiple court orders," the plaintiffs' lawyers said, urging the Mamdani administration to "embrace this moment and work collaboratively with all parties to ensure that lasting, meaningful reforms are finally implemented."

The government is represented by Jeffrey Powell of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and Rachael Doud of the Department of Justice's Civil Division.

The city of New York is represented by Alan Scheiner, Sheryl Neufeld and Mariam Khan of the City of New York Law Department.

The plaintiff class is represented by Kayla Simpson, Mary Werlwas and Katherine Haas of The Legal Aid Society and Debbie Greenberger of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.

The case is Nunez v. the City of New York et al., case number 1:11-cv-05845, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

--Additional reporting by Stewart Bishop.