Nick Deml came to Vermont to lead the state’s prison system after seven years at the CIA. He’d never worked in corrections and was tasked with navigating the pandemic, reforming a toxic workplace culture, and addressing an acute staffing shortage.
After nearly four years on the job, Deml will step down on Friday. Gov. Phil Scott has appointed former Burlington police chief Jon Murad as interim commissioner.
“There's a million things I still would like to do and projects that are still out there,” Deml told Vermont Public in an interview last week. “But I think the department's in good shape. I think we've set really good foundations for the next leader.”
The department’s foundation was shaky when Deml came on board in November 2021. It was the second winter of the COVID pandemic and while no one incarcerated in Vermont had died from the disease, DOC’s use of lockdowns had taken a toll on prisoners’ mental health. Corrections officials were also in the midst of implementing reforms after a Seven Days investigation found sexual misconduct, drug use and retaliation against guards who raised concerns at the state’s only women’s prison.
Deml says he implemented a “philosophy shift” that placed a greater focus on people in the system – both the staff and those who were incarcerated.
He pointed to several new initiatives as proof of this shift, including expanding access to free community college classes for DOC staff and incarcerated people, looking for ways to improve visitation for children of incarcerated fathers, and expanding drug treatment options in prisons.
"For many of those folks, we're the first place they get access to primary care, the first place they've gotten access to consistent substance use treatment and recovery support."DOC Commissioner Nick Deml
“For many of those folks, we're the first place they get access to primary care, the first place they've gotten access to consistent substance use treatment and recovery support,” Deml said.
He also oversaw the launch of an internal investigations unit to review incidents like prisoner deaths and escape attempts, and he agreed to overhaul the grievance process after the state auditor’s office pointed out significant deficiencies.
In 2022 and 2023, an uptick in deaths at state prisons raised questions about the quality of care at those facilities. In one instance, an investigation by the state defender general’s office found failures in the medical staff response to the death of David Mitchell, according to VTDigger.
Calling such incidents the most “vexing” parts of his job, Deml said his team has tried to learn from all of them to improve health care in Vermont’s prisons. In 2023, the department hired the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin to help develop a process to publish more information about deaths in state prisons. It now publishes limited information about the results of these reviews.
Recent death investigations have led the department to increase emergency response training drills for staff and develop an “enhanced” observation and mental health check system when people first arrive in prisons.
During Deml's tenure the state also switched medical contactors, moving from VitalCore to Wellpath, a Nashville-based company that provides health services in correctional facilities across 37 states. The company has faced accusations of inadequate care in other New England states, including Maine and Massachusetts.
State Rep. Alice Emmons, a Democrat from Springfield who chairs the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, said Deml helped focus the department’s attention on making sure Wellpath provides a high level of care to incarcerated Vermonters.
Her committee members “feel much better” about the delivery of care, Emmons said in an interview. “Not to say that it's perfect, but at least they're feeling that the central office is paying much more attention to our health care contractor than what has occurred over the past.”
Defender General Matt Valerio, whose office houses the prisoners’ rights office, agrees that Deml has done more to push the medical contractor than past corrections leaders. And while the defender general’s office is often at odds with the department, Valerio said Deml has been the “most productive” commissioner he’s worked with during his roughly 25-year tenure.
"I think that the professionalism of the department has improved under Deml, and hopefully that doesn't backslide."Defender General Matt Valerio
“There have been times when it's more tense between my office and the Department of Corrections, and then there are times where it's been better — we're coming off of probably the best time,” Valerio said. “I think that the professionalism of the department has improved under Deml, and hopefully that doesn't backslide.”
Not everyone in the state government has a rosy view of Deml’s time as commissioner. Steve Howard, the executive director of the Vermont State Employee Association, said Deml didn’t communicate enough with the union and that hampered efforts to address the staffing crisis at the DOC.
“I think he was trying just to deliver good news constantly when the truth was not good,” Howard said in an interview. “You have to communicate when things are tough, even more sometimes than when everything's going well.”
According to Deml, the department cut its vacancy rate for security staff from 32% to 15%, but he says it needs to do more to bolster its ranks and to keep the people it’s hired.
Deml also acknowledged that communication with the union could have been better during his tenure. But he pointed to several staff initiatives — including boosting pay by $30 million over the past three years and launching new wellness and peer support programs — that were achieved with support from the union.
“I wish I had done a better job communicating with them so they felt that that partnership was there,” Deml said. “I think we tried in a variety of ways, but clearly we didn't get through to the union every day, and so there's room to grow there.”
When Deml steps down on Friday, he plans to start a consulting firm to help states and other organizations in fields related to the corrections industry, public safety, and national security. He insists he’s not planning to run for political office.
“That question has come up quite a bit lately,” Deml said with a laugh. “I am not planning in any way to run for political office, so hopefully we can put that one to bed.”
