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Council's criminal justice reform committee named

The head of the city's public defenders association, an advocate for prisoner rights, and a former deputy police commissioner will be among those named Thursday to a City Council committee tasked with studying criminal justice reform.

The head of the city's public defenders association, an advocate for prisoner rights, and a former deputy police commissioner will be among those named Thursday to a City Council committee tasked with studying criminal justice reform.

The committee, proposed by Council President Darrell L. Clarke and approved by Council in December, is expected to hold expedited hearings and issue a report that will include formal recommendations for reducing incarceration and recidivism while ensuring public safety.

The committee will be led by three co-chairs, according to a resolution obtained by the Inquirer, that will be introduced Thursday. They are Councilman Curtis Jones Jr.; Kevin J. Bethel, former deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department; and Keir Bradford-Gray, chief of Philadelphia Defenders Association.

The other named members are Councilman Kenyatta Johnson; Ann Schwartzman, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society; and Tariq El-Shabazz, a defense attorney.

Jane Roh, spokeswoman for Clarke, confirmed those names and said other members are likely to be appointed.

The resolution also said the committee will include representatives of the mayor's office, the First Judicial District Court and the District Attorney's Office, though those appointees have not been decided on.

Roh said the committee will set its own hearing schedule and timeline. Clarke has stressed urgency in the process.

tnadolny@phillynews.com

215-854-2730@TriciaNadolny