About the author
David Geiger is a licensed, retired electrical engineer with a master’s degree. He worked for 20 years in the communications department for Con Edison, the local power company for New York City. He is also an Eagle Scout.
Sadly, he has schizophrenia, which makes it difficult for those with the illness to interpret reality correctly. In 1979, he had his first bout with the illness, killing his wife and severely injuring their then-infant son. (His son is fine, having recovered, married and having two children.) He stood trial and was acquitted as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity by a jury of his peers.
Resume/ curriculum vitae:
1. In November 1968, David Geiger earned his Eagle Scout Award
2. In June 1972, he graduated 2/304 from Don Bosco Technical High School
3. Attended both high school and college via scholarships won in essay contests
4. In May 1976, he earned his baccalaureate degree in electrical engineering with honor from Stevens Institute of Technology,
5. July 15, 1979: first breakdown. Hospitalized for 4 years.
6. In May 1989, he earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology
7. In September 1989, he qualified to join Mensa and did
8. In March 1995, he earned the NJ Professional Engineer license and is now retired.
9. In 1995, he was recognized for Excellence by Con Edison Substation Operations Dept.
10. In 1995, he won a national Mensa Individual Recognition Award for a published essay.
11. In May 1998, he initiated his journey into criminal justice reform by writing articles for IMprint: The Newsletter of Northern New Jersey Mensa and wrote many copyrighted articles on the topic.
12. Spring 1999: second breakdown. Hospitalized for 3 years.
13. On July 25, 1999, he earned his Postgraduate Certificate of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Business School in Edinburgh, Scotland
14. From 2006-2007, he taught adults interviewing techniques at the NJ Department of Labor in Dover, NJ
15. Won grant from American Mensa for Paterson (NJ) Public Library
16. In October 2007, he won a national mini-essay contest held by U.S. Catholic. Cash award
17. In 2009, he was Local Secretary (President) of Northern NJ Mensa
18. Contributed to improvement of electric delivery reliability where Con Edison won prestigious industry awards from PA Consulting Group: Outstanding System-wide Reliability Award (2008 -- 2010) and Reliability One Award in the Northeast Region (2008 -- 2010)
19. In June 2013, his team won a Team Award at Con Edison for project excellence on GIC monitor. He was lead engineer.
20. In the spring of 2014, he held an art show at The School of Visual Arts in NYC
21. In November 2016, he released his autobiographical book In the Matter of Edwin Potter: Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Reform, winner of
a. London Book Reviews Honoring Excellence 2023
b. Toronto Book Review Literary Award 2024
22. In 2018, he received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who
23. Beginning in March 2022, he was asked to participate in the White House Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) weekly Thursday calls (Zoomcast).
24. In November 2022, he was a panel member for an FDA conference which initiated drug research into schizophrenia.
25. In May 2024, he participated in a SOAR Forum with NJ Reentry Corporation and Rutgers University Newark Center for Applied Appreciative Inquiry “to offer your valuable public policy ideas to improve and transform the breadth of mental health and addiction treatment services for Justice-involved individuals.” SOAR: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results. Still being researched at the time of this writing.
26. In 2024, he received the Man of the Year Award from Who’s Who Top 100 Registry.
27. In February 2025, the SOAR report became a public document!
https://rutgers.app.box.com/s/yy3dwaw1gqraaeb28ywg0j4g1mxr37md
Who supports me/ my ideas?
“This along with other issues you cite explains why recidivism is almost inevitable – the lack of education, financial opportunities, social support, and the general climate of prisoners – which leads us to release prisoners with virtually no chance to go in a different direction.”
--(Rev.) Frank DeSiano, CSP, President, Paulist Prison Ministries, Washington, DC
“I agree with you wholeheartedly that mental Illness is not a crime nor is it a moral weakness.”
-Chirlane McCray, First Lady of New York City
“This kind of personal insight offers an invaluable glimpse into the mind of someone who suffers from this illness.”
-- Joel S. Federbush, M.D., Diplomate in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
“The author has been actively seeking to share his experience and insights with others through participation in conferences and through extensive correspondence with public officials. This book will further contribute to the understanding that criminal justice professionals must have concerning the complexities of mental illness, crime, punishment, and healing. A beautiful book.”
-- Ann Jacobs, Executive Director, The John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity, NYC
“A thoughtful and original piece of work from the perspective of one whose personal experiences have given him an invaluable and unique “take” on the issues at hand. There is so much here to ponder and reflect upon; the author has done all a major service by sharing his own story and views with us. I recommend this to all who take these issues seriously.”
--Michael L. Perlin, Esq., Professor Emeritus of Law
Founding Director, International Mental Disability Law Reform Project
Co-founder, Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates
New York Law School
“David Geiger straight-forwardly addresses tough topics without sugarcoating anything. Geiger's story is a must-read.”
- Nathan Lane, 5/5 stars on Goodreads
“Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. I am sorry it has taken me a while to respond, but I appreciate your generosity and continued support as we work to revitalize the five boroughs and unlock the boundless promise of New York City. Please accept my best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.”
-Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City
Current topics
Currently there is still an extreme bias towards persons with mental illness. Having mental illness is seen as a crime. It is not a crime any more than having heart disease or diabetes are crimes. According to his attorney, he can profit from the book because he has not been convicted of a crime. David initiated his journey into criminal justice reform in May 1998 and wrote many copyrighted articles on the topic. In 2018, he received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who. In November 2022, he was a panel member for an FDA conference which initiated drug research into schizophrenia.
In May 2024, he participated in a SOAR Forum with former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey’s NJ Reentry Corporation and Rutgers University Newark Center for Applied Appreciative Inquiry “to offer your valuable public policy ideas to improve and transform the breadth of mental health and addiction treatment services for Justice-involved individuals.” In less than a year, a report was written for the NJ State Policy Lab and made a public document. Here is the link:
https://rutgers.app.box.com/s/yy3dwaw1gqraaeb28ywg0j4g1mxr37md
Now the public needs to be educated. This is where the book IMOEP comes in. David wrote an autobiographical account of his journey: In the Matter of Edwin Potter: Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Reform released in November 2016, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He won much praise and 2 awards: London Book Reviews Honoring Excellence in 2023 and Toronto Book Review Literary Award in 2024. IMOEP has over 500 reviews and has a rating of 4.68/5.00 on Goodreads.
The ideas for rehabilitation expressed in the book were tried successfully in NY State through the Institute for Justice and Opportunity, a research department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NY City. Also, NJ Superior Court in Passaic County, NJ has found that the ideas expressed reduce recidivism.
What is the book about?
It is an autobiography about Edwin Potter (a pseudonym for David Geiger), a man with schizophrenia. He had no treatment, and, as a result, he killed somebody. This is the true story of his trial, his struggle, and his comeback.
Q: Why do we have crimes?
The typical prison inmate does not have the skills necessary to succeed in accepted society. That is the problem. What do we do? We need to teach them: reading, writing, arithmetic, social skills, job skills, language skills, and personal finance. They need mentors, housing, help with their substance abuse, and a change in the laws that keep them from taking part in society. I mentioned a minute ago about that report I helped to write that report to change the policies in NJ. Things like that need to be done. And we are doing them.
The mentally ill have a different set of problems that cannot be fixed by throwing them into prison. Schizophrenia, for example, is a neurological problem, a spectrum illness much like autism. As with any other illness, it requires medical treatment. Having mental illness is not a crime any more than having heart disease or diabetes are crimes. It needs medical research.
- Copyright May 1998 David E. Geiger
Examples
Here is a problem that all of you are probably familiar with: mass shootings. It is too late when reports reach the 6 o’clock news. Say for example a man’s family and neighbors see someone collecting guns, ammunition, and maps of a site. The law currently says that there is nothing they can do unless the individual asks for help, but he does not see himself as sick, called anosognosia, and so he doesn’t ask for help. The situation only gets worse until he starts to kill people and maybe himself as well.
In my estimation, there is something that can be done. As an example, at a court review in my case, my mother told the judge point blank that she saw something happening with me, but she did not know what to do. Same situation. The judge kept quiet until the end of the hearing. Then she told my mother she should speak out if she sees something like that. A life could have been saved if someone had said it sooner. This is now NJ State policy.
I sent a copy of my book IMOEP to NYC Mayor Eric Adams back in November 2024. This past week of May 4, 2025 I heard on the news that he established a policy for the City to take a person off the street if he exhibits threatening behaviors.
In the Matter of Edwin Potter: Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Reform is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.