Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I want to do three things while you're here.
One is to thank you for your amazing public service, which has continued, frankly, long after I expected it would have. I think you are representative of the finest public servants in our country. In the line of Bob Carman and people I worked with, I'm glad you continue to do what you do. It's wonderful.
Second, I want to take an opportunity to push back a bit. I do this when people come to my office to lobby me about issues; I push back and lobby them. I'd like to take a minute to lobby the commission to keep a focus on incarcerated people, which has not really been in your work.
I think what we see in our work is that this segment of the population are the leftovers. I think the commission has a responsibility to broaden its work to include those who are some of the least likeable of the mentally ill because they have sometimes committed terrible crimes. I think our society needs your help at the commission to do that.
That's just a little plea. I always take that opportunity.
Third, one of our witnesses said, and I want your comment on this, that prisons have become a risk factor for addictions and mental health. You have a long history in corrections and in mental health, and I'd like some comments on that.