Join the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project for a series of events on prison reform.
Transgender Issues in Prison
WED March 5th, 12 pm – 1 pm, WCC 1019
This panel will discuss the unique challenges faced by transgender inmates, who are disproportionately victims of violence, harassment, and sexual assault at the hands of other inmates as well as prison guards. The event will feature Gabriel Arkles of Northeastern University School of Law and formerly of the Prisoners’ Justice Initiative at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Alexia Norena of Black & Pink. Co-sponsored by HLS Lambda.
Rape in Prisons
WED March 5th, 6 pm – 8 pm, Austin West
This panel will explore the issues raised by prison rape in our criminal justice system and the steps being taken to help correct the problem. Dr. Josiah Rich, co-director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights and a professor at Brown University Medical School, will provide a public health and human rights perspective. Dr. Allen Beck, the Senior Statistical Advisor at the Bureau of Justice Statistics and lead analyst responsible for data collection for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, will provide a statistical background, and Raymond Marchilli, Massachusetts Department of Corrections coordinator for the implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, will discuss the successes and shortfalls of ongoing reform efforts.
Building Reform Coalitions Across Ideology
THUR March 6th, 12 pm – 1 pm, Hauser 104
This panel will discuss how to cement and broaden consensus on prison and criminal justice reform, focusing on why conservatives have started embracing reform and how to maintain their involvement. Marc Levin, Policy Director of Right on Crime and Director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Jeremy Haile, Federal Advocacy Counsel at The Sentencing Project, will discuss bipartisan reform efforts and the sustainability of the currently growing coalitions. (Get a taste of this topic, with commentary from Mr. Levin, at http://bit.ly/1mFlL60.) Co-sponsored by the Federalist Society & ACS.
Parole Reform: Fighting Crime by Reducing Incarceration
FRI March 7th, 12 pm – 1 pm, WCC 1019
Mark Kleiman, Professor of Public Policy at UCLA and national crime and drug policy expert, will d iscuss how to reform the parole and probation systems to achieve dramatic crime reductions. Currently these systems are inadequate and ineffective, but they will play an important role in implementing alternatives to incarceration. Prof . Kleiman will discuss how reforming the parole system can dramatically reduce both crime and drug use.