Sponsored by the Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University and the Restorative Justice Working Group of the Boston Theological Institute.
For info: call
(617)305-1991 or email
[email protected]
April 25, 2001 "Healing and Forgiveness" (conversation with Douglas Reynolds)
March 29, 2001 *JEAN TROUNSTINE* -
Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Power of Drama in a Women's Prison -
When Jean Trounstine first arrived at the Women's Correctional
Institute in Framingham to teach a class in theater, she was not
surprised by the dismal and desperate prison environment. Her real
surprise was the remarkable sense of sisterhood, intelligence and
creativity she found among the women in her class. In Shakespeare
Behind Bars, she recounts the stories of the six female inmates who
joined her on a theatrical journey to redemption. Along the way, they
uncover the complicated paths that lead women to prison, and the power
of theater to change their lives.
*Co-sponsored with Women Inside/Outside, the women in
prison project of Sojourner: The Women's Forum Geneva*
Sponsored by New Words Live. Free and wheelchair accessible. New
Words Bookstore, 186 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA. Info:
617-876-5310 or http://www.newwordsbooks.com
March 29, 2001 at Bunker
Hill Community College, the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department
presented "Faith-Based Community Initiatives and Ex-Offenders."
Guest Speakers Reverend Mark Scott, White
House Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives;
John Larivee, Chief Executive Officer, Community
Resources for Justice, Inc.; Richard Williamson,
Co-Founder and Executive Director of God's Posse,
Inc.; and Cynthia Bioteau, Dean of Developmental
Learning and Academic Support Services at Bunker Hill
Community College.
April 17, 2001CJPC Annual Meeting!
March 22, 2001 Heather Barr gave a talk on "Prisons and Jails: the New
Mental Health System of the United States."
Ms. Barr is the recipient of the 2001 Reebok Human Rights Award and founder
of the Nathaniel Projects at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and
Employment Services, the first program in the country to provide an
alternative to incarceration for felony offenders with serious mental
illnesses.
MARCH 22, 2001 Ford Hall Forum
ACTUAL INNOCENCE: WHEN JUSTICE GOES WRONG AND HOW TO MAKE IT RIGHT
Led by Attorney PETER NEUFELD of The Innocence Project with
NEAL MILLER, wrongly convicted and imprisoned for a crime he did not
commit, and Moderated by DAN REA, Reporter for WBZ-4 News
Can science prove innocence or guilt beyond a shadow of doubt? How does
DNA evidence affect this country's ongoing debate about the death penalty?
Peter Neufeld is one of the founders of The Innocence Project which
provides pro bono legal assistance to inmates who are challenging their
convictions based on DNA testing of evidence. Having managed to help free
some 40 wrongly convicted people, Mr. Neufeld tells the stories of
prisoners unjustly incarcerated because of mistaken identification, sloppy
police work, and fabrication of evidence. His recent book, Actual
Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches from the Wrongly
Convicted, was co-written with Barry Scheck and Pulitzer Prize-winning
columnist Jim Dwyer.
The Ford Hall Forum is a private nonprofit educational organization
committed to promoting and facilitating the thoughtful exercise of our
First Amendment rights of freedom of expression through the presentation of
free public lectures that actively engage diverse audiences in discussions
and debates about timely issues. Ford Hall Forum lectures are always free,
open to the public, and include opportunities for audience members to ask
questions and share comments. The Ford Hall Forum is committed to ensuring
its programs are accessible to people of all abilities. All program sites
are wheelchair accessible. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation is
available upon prior request.
Programs of the Ford Hall Forum are made possible through generous
contributions from individual members as well as corporations and
foundations, including the Boston Cultural Council, The Boston Foundation,
Fidelity Foundation, Harcourt General Charitable Foundation, Houghton
Chemical Corporation, Levine, Katz, Nannis + Solomon P.C., The Lowell
Institute, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Proscenium Fund for Audience
Development, the A.C. Ratshesky Foundation, and Northeastern University.
For more information, contact the Ford Hall Forum, 716 Columbus Avenue, 5th
floor, Boston, MA 02120. (617) 373-5800 Telephone.
Contact: Tom Formicola
Executive Director
March 24, 2001 "Can Anything Good Come Out
Of Prison?" conference held all day Saturday, March 24 at the Landmark
Center near Elmsford, in Westchester County,
New York.
Along with the local Presbyterians and the United
Methodist Church, this conference was sponsored by the Buddhists, the
Catholic Archdiocese of New York and the Quaker Prison Ministries among
others. Hosts include New York Theological Seminary, the Osborne
Association and The Interfaith Center of New York. Major funding is
provided by the Ford Foundation. The conference is organized by Prison
Communities International (PCI), a non-profit (501c3)
Westchester based organization.
Any questions can be directed to the organizers,
Prison Communities International. 914-232-7566
email: [email protected].
Website: www.p-c-i.org.
March 9-11, 2001 in New York, NY
Critical Resistance:
Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex.
Northeast regional
conference, following on the large national gathering in 1998, to focus on
the impacts of the prison industrial complex in Maine, Vermont,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington,
DC.
Visit
http://www.criticalresistance.org for further information, or
call (212) 561-0912 or e-mail
[email protected].
March 15th, 2001, the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition and the Suffolk
University Graduate Program in Criminal Justice will present "The Solid Steel
Door," a forum discussing the impact of incarceration on inmates and society
as a whole. The forum is free and open to the public and will take place at
One Beacon Street, 25th Floor, in the Suffolk University CMD Conference Room
at 6:00pm. The facility is wheel chair accessible and refreshments will be
served.
March 15,2001 Third Annual Stanley Jones Courage Awards tel. 617-442-1622 x224
February 28, 2001 Restorative Theologies and Spiritualities: An Interfaith Roundtable
Discussion (part of the Restorative Justice Brown Bag Series) at
Suffolk University.
Sponsored by the
Center for Restorative Justice at Suffolk University and the Restorative
Justice Working Group of the Boston Theological Institute.
February 28, 2001 Encore presented Gang and Sex Offender Labeling Practices in Mass Prisons as part of its "Community Change Anti-Racism Discussion Series."
Phillip Kassel, who is a staff attorney at the Mass Correctional Legal Services, spoke at the event.
February 22, 2001 FROM THE PRISON OF SLAVERY TO THE SLAVERY OF PRISON:
RACE AS A LENS
A workshop examining the links between slavery & the
development of prisons. What are the implications for
faith-based communities and other agencies today?
Panelists:
- Joan Martin, Wm. Rankin assoc Prof. of
Ethics (historical background)
- Van Windsor, former prison chaplain (contemporary
implications)
- Tim & Myrna Bullock, participants in Middle Passage
Pilgrimage & Mass. Interfaith Prison Pilgrimage
(reflections on own journey/commitment)
Moderator: Rev. Renee Wormack-Keels, Pastor United
Baptist Church
February 15, 2001 The Criminal Justice Policy Coalition and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers sponsored a presentation
on Prospects for Criminal Justice Reform in the New Legislative Session.
Anthony Benedetti, Esq, from the Committee of Public Counsel Services, and Virginia Burns, MSW, Coordinator for the Legislative Campaign on Women in Criminal Justice presented
at the Boston College Campus.
12/3/2000 Worcester League of Women Voters Holiday Tea
11/28/2000 Quincy Rotary
Tuesday, December 12, 2000 The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department
hosted a session in our ongoing series, Directions
2000...Criminal Justice Discussions for a New Century. This session's topic
was "Female Offenders in the System."
Speakers: First Justice Kathleen Coffey, West
Roxbury District Court, Phyllis Buccio-Notaro, Statewide Program
Supervisor, Office of community Corrections, Professor Maureen Norton-Hawk,
Suffolk University Law School and Patrick Bradley, Superintendent, Suffolk
County Sheriff's Department/Office of Community Corrections.
The forum addressed the needs, established programming and resources,
and the many complexities criminal justice professionals face as they seek
to identify an appropriate response to the increase in incarcerated females.
In a series of forums, Directions 2000 intends to expose criminal justice practitioners to issues,
ideas, and innovations, which will benefit their professional development
and day-to-day practices.
Friday, December 1, 2000 Kay Pranis of the Minnesota State Restorative
Justice program discussed RJ and violence against
women
Wednesday, November 29, 2000 Criminal Justice expert and
author James Alan Fox
discussed Locked Up/Locked Out: America's Response to
Juvenile Crime
An expert on violence in America, Fox focuses his
discussion on juvenile crime and juvenile justice, in
particular, the rapidly rising number of young
offenders who are tried in court as adults. He
provides sobering statistics about the rising rate of
juvenile incarceration due to mandatory sentencing
and three-strikes laws, and shines a light on the
fallacy that "getting tough on crime" acts as a
deterrent. In fact, recent studies show that the
likelihood of juvenile offenders committing more
serious crimes increases among those who have been
incarcerated as adults.
Fox looks at the disturbing implications of recent
legislation and offers alternative approaches in the hopes of rehabilitating young offenders rather than
indoctrinating them into a life of crime.
James Alan Fox is The Lipman Family Professor of
Criminal Justice and former dean at Northeastern
University. He has published 15 books,
including, "The Will to Kill: Making Sense of
Senseless Murder" and "Dead Lines: Essays in Murder
and Mayhem." Fox appears frequently as a homicide
authority on programs such as The Today Show,
Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours and Oprah, and is a frequent
advisor to Congress and the White House on youth
violence trends.
November 14, 2000 Speaker's Series Event at Somerville Rotary
November 4, 2000 Public Speak Out and Debate On Prisoner's Right To Vote
on Saturday, at Copley Square,
Boston.
Question 2 on the November ballot sought to amend
the Massachusetts Constitution to strip incarcerated
felons of their Constitutional voting rights.
Speakers included Mel
King, Prof. Charles Ogletree, Jr., Byron Rushing, Ken
White of Common Cause, Kazi Toure of AFSC, and Sheila
Dechter of the American Jewish Congress.
November 4, 2000 Sister Helen Prejean, acclained author of Dead Man Walking and 2000 Nobel
Peace Prize Nominee, spoke at Assumption College in Worcester,
Massachusetts.
October 26, 2000 Drug Policy at the Crossroads: The Challenge of Ballot Question 8
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
Speakers: Judge Robert P. Ziemian, South Boston District Court,
David Mulligan, former Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Associate Professor, Health Care Administration, Stonehill College,
Professor Eric Blumenson, Suffolk University Law School
Among the questions addressed were:
- Do drug abusers belong in treatment or in Jail?
- What alternatives to prison are presently available to drug offenders?
- What impact has the drug court movement had in Massachusetts?
- What will happen if Question 8 passes?
Co-sponsors: Boston College Against the Death Penalty, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, Conconrd Prison Outreach, Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, Mass Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors,
National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter, NASW Criminal Justice Committee
October 19, 2000 Speaker series at Cambridge Rotary Club,(Rotarians only)
October 18, 2000 Speaker series at Boston Rotary Club
October 12, 2000 at Lynn Rotary Club, 12:00 noon (Rotarians only)
September 27, 2000 The Criminal Justice Policy Coalition,
The Worcester Chapter of the ACLUM,
The Worcester County Sheriff's Office,
And the Worcester YWCA held a Public Policy Forum on
The Value of Drug Treatment:
Alternatives to Incarceration
For Drug Offenders
Do You Know:
How many people are incarcerated in Massachusetts?
How many of them are locked up for drug offenses?
Would it Surprise You to Learn:
That there are more effective ways to address substance abuse?
That there are more cost-effective ways to address substance abuse?
Do You Want to Learn More About:
Current drug policy and why it is failing?
Treatment alternatives that could offer new hope for substance abusers?
Question 8 on the November ballot, which seeks to expand the use of drug treatment for drug-dependent drug offenders?
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