ID: ICPA2023vPID089 26 Oct 2023

by Dr Ivan Zinger, Howard Sapers, Mark Kelly, Barbara Bernath, Chris Cirrito, Aiden King, Noah Barth

ICPA2023-PID089-PID122 - Ivan Zinger, Mark Kelly, Barbara Bernath, Howard Sapers, Chris Cirrito

Achieving Meaningful Human Rights Reforms in Corrections through External Prison Oversight & Correctional Oversight in the United States

Authors

Dr Ivan Zinger

Correctional Investigator of Canada, Office of the Correctional Investigator of Canada

Dr. Ivan Zinger received his degree in Common Law from the University of Ottawa in 1992, and completed his articles of clerkship at the Federal Court of Canada. In 1999, he obtained his Ph.D. at Carleton University (Ottawa) in Psychology of Criminal Conduct. He is a Research Adjunct Professor with the Law Department at Carleton University. Dr. Zinger joined the Public Service of Canada in 1996. He held a variety of senior managerial, policy and research positions in public safety-related federal departments and agencies. In 2004, he joined his current employer, the Office of the Correctional Investigator (Federal Prison Ombudsman), and since January 2009, he is the Executive Director and General Counsel for that Office. Over the years, Dr. Zinger developed expertise in domestic and international human rights law in prison settings. His academic publications are significant and include articles on a variety of subjects, including prison oversight, ethics, dangerous offenders, correctional treatment, the diagnosis of psychopathy, conditional release, and penal segregation. Dr. Zinger is the recipient of the 2014 APEX Partnership Award for “making communities safer by building strong and effective partnerships across the country and abroad, contributing to the development of more effective correctional practices in Canada.” This prestigious award is one of six presented annually by the Association of Professional Executives in the Public Service of Canada (APEX).

Howard Sapers

Visiting Professor, University of Ottawa, Canada

Currently, Howard runs his own consulting practice and partners with government and non-government clients, providing policy and operational guidance in the social and justice sectors. Howard has successfully adapted the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules Compliance Checklist for Canadian implementation for use as a transitional housing option for hard-to-house clients leaving incarceration. Additionally, he was chosen as one of five corrections experts to assist a Middle Eastern country working on modernizing correctional operations, moving from punishment to rehabilitation. In this role, Howard generated foundational comparator country reports and helped create a roadmap for change. He recently conducted a comprehensive analysis of the use of force in a Canadian provincial correctional service, resulting in new training requirements, policy reform, improved workplace safety, and enhanced oversight and accountability. Previous work has included a policy, operational, and oversight review of use of force in a Canadian jurisdiction, an exploration of the percussors to institutional violence, a deep examination of the problematic use of segregation, and the development of comprehensive operational, policy and legislative reform in a Canadian province.

Mark Kelly

Chief Inspector of Prisons, Office of the Inspector of Prisons, Ireland

Mark Kelly is an international human rights lawyer who has extensive international experience as well as operational experience in the areas of monitoring prisons, police custody and administrative detention. In 2014, he was elected to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe, of which he was Vice-President from 2017-2021. Prior to this in 2013, he was appointed as a Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and a member of the Board of the Equality Authority, pending the creation of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, to which the President of Ireland appointed him as a Commissioner on 31 October 2014. Mr. Kelly was also a member of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe’s Secretariat from 1991 – 2000 and is a former Executive Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

Barbara Bernath

Secretary General, Association for the Prevention of Torture, Switzerland

A Swiss/French national, Barbara Bernath holds a Master's Degree in international law from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Before joining the APT, she worked as a Delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross and held several posts in the human rights field including with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She speaks French, English, Spanish and German. Ms. Bernath has extensive experience in torture prevention with the APT over the last twenty years, including as Chief of Operations since 2009.

Chris Cirrito

Chief Audit Executive, Texas Board of Criminal Justice, United States

Chris Cirrito has served the field of corrections for almost 30 years, to include time as a correctional officer at two Texas maximum security prisons and over 25 years of experience in internal auditing, fraud detection and prevention, business process analysis, and quality assurance review. He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Auditing Professional, and Certified Fraud Examiner. Chris’ unique combination of formal education, extensive hours of continuing professional education, and practical experience make him uniquely qualified to provide value and perspective to any team.

Since 2015, Chris has served as Chief Audit Executive for the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice oversees Texas’ largest state-operated agency and the United States’ largest state criminal justice system, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He also serves as Chief Audit Executive for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, the independent decision making body for adult parole in Texas, and the Windham School District, which is charged with providing high school, college, and vocational education for prison inmates. Chris specializes in business process analysis, risk identification, and evaluation of internal controls impacting the achievement of organizational objectives. His tenure with the Texas Board of Criminal Justice has allowed him the opportunity to understand and evaluate all areas of the adult criminal justice system in the State of Texas. And, more specifically, his role as Chief Audit Executive allows a unique perspective on issues impacting the criminal justice and corrections systems.

Chris is an accomplished public speaker and actively develops industry leading continuing education initiatives introducing risk based monitoring, fraud awareness, and quality assurance to United States and international corrections professionals. He chairs the American Correctional Association’s Ethics Committee and serves on its International Corrections and Resolutions and Policies committees. He also serves on the Standards Committee for the Association of Paroling Authorities International and is actively involved in the International Corrections and Prison Association.

Aiden King

Director, John Howard Association of Illinois, Pennsylvania Prison Society, Correctional Association of New York, United States

Aidan King is a project coordinator for the partnership among The John Howard Association of Illinois, The Correctional Association of New York, and the Pennsylvania Prison Society where he focuses on identifying and disseminating good practice in correctional oversight across the US. Previously Aidan worked for over 10 years on prison oversight for the International Committee of the Red Cross and DIGNITY- the Danish Institute Against Torture.

Noah Barth

Prison Monitoring Director, Pennsylvania Prison Society, United States

Noah Barth is the Prison Monitoring Director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. He supports the work of 250 prison monitors who go into prisons and jails every day to help individuals address their concerns. He also leads monitoring tours and conducts special projects.
Prior to coming to the Prison Society, Noah worked in higher education in prison for five years, bringing high caliber liberal arts education behind prison walls. Before that he served as the programmatic lead for the US chapter of Médecins du Monde where he established a free medical clinic for the undocumented and uninsured in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Noah has additional experience in alternatives-to-detention and alternatives-to-incarceration. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in International Development from Tulane University.

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