JUSTICE AT THE CROSSROADS:
IS THE WINDOW OF REFORM CLOSING?
Webinar Series and Reporting Fellowships March 3-4, 2022
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INDEX
Click here for Agenda and Bios of speakers.
Click here to see a reference library of research, essays and journal articles.
Click here to see media coverage of issues covered by the Symposium.
Click here to see articles by Fellows.
Click here to see webinar recordings of the sessions.
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Has the national reform conversation been derailed before it has barely gotten on track? As we face what are likely to be contentious midterm elections, are we once again at the mercy of what some senior criminologists warn is an ‘alarmism’ that will throw us back to hardline policies? Or is this a bump along the way?
What lessons can be learned? Do we need to slow down in order to preserve the gains already achieved? And importantly, what constructive role can the media play?
These questions were at the heart of the 17th annual Harry Frank Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America, held as a ZOOM WEBINAR on March 3-4, 2022.
Speakers included: Jamila Hodge, executive director of Equal Justice USA; former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx; former Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel; and Insha Rahman of the Vera Institute of Justice.
THE HF GUGGENHEIM & QUATTRONE REPORTING FELLOWSHIPS
Thirty-seven journalists from around the country participated in the 2022 Symposium as Reporting Fellows. We will publish their work or link to their stories here. So please check back periodically. For bios of 2022 Fellows click here
The Symposium also hosts the annual Harry Frank Guggenheim Awards for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting. The prizes, administered by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice, recognize the previous year’s best print and online justice reporting by a U.S.-based media outlet. Winners are chosen for the best single story and best series. The 2022 awards will be announced later.
The annual “Crime in America” symposia are organized by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ) at John Jay College (publisher of The Crime Report), and supported by a consortium led by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Additional sponsors include the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Arnold Ventures, and others. The two-day symposia bring together leading researchers and policymakers with journalists to deepen public understanding of the most relevant crime and violence issues in the United States. The sponsors play no part in selecting the journalists or the agenda.
Information and details about last year’s symposium can be accessed here.
REFERENCE LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR JOURNALISTS/RESEARCHERS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM TRENDS 2022 Alfred Blumstein, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University (PANEL 2) POWERPOINT
GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE. Independent Data Base (PANEL 2)
The Gun Violence Archive [GVA] was established in Fall of 2013 as an independent research and data collection organization to provide comprehensive data for the national conversation regarding gun violence.
SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND CRIME DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, Julia Schleimer, University of California-Davis [PANEL 2]
BAIL REFORM: The New York Experience, Michael Rempel, Data Collaborative For Justice, John Jay College [PANEL 4] POWERPOINT
NEW JERSEY CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM: Evidence & Implications, Cindy Redcross, Bronx County DA’s Office [PANEL 4] POWERPOINT
REIMAGINING JUDGING, Square One Project, Nancy Gertner [PANEL 6]
CONCEALED WEAPONS DEATHS: BASIC DATA, Kirsten Rand, Violence Policy Center [PANEL 7] POWERPOINT
COVERING CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Look Beyond Law Enforcement, Lead With Empathy (Arnold Ventures, March 2022) [PANEL 12]
ARTICLES/related coverage
Her own brand of justice: Upper Valley Vermont native Sarah George presses progressive reforms as prosecutor. Valley News, Feb. 12, 2022
How Will Cities Deal With Increased Police Mission Creep? Crime and Justice News, March 7, 2022
As Covid Surges Again, Decarceration Is More Necessary Than Ever, The Nation, Dec. 22, 2021
American jails and prisons have become increasingly deadly places.
Opinion: The Public Health Case for Decarcerating America’s Prison System, UNDark Jan.6, 2022
The pandemic has illustrated all too clearly how unsafe conditions in prisons boomerang back on the general population.
How Mass Incarceration Makes Us All Sick, By Eric Reinhart, Health Affairs, May 28, 2021
The Little-Known Violence Prevention Tool Cropping Up in Cities Across the Country, Slate, March 2, 2022
Lawmakers must stop putting off the real solution.
FELLOWS ARTICLES
CHRISTINA CARREGA, CapitalB
STEPHANIE CASANOVA, Chicago Tribune
‘The stakes feel higher.’ Recent violence blamed on youths highlights Chicago teens in trouble and efforts to save them. (with Annie Sweeney) March 11, 2022
KADE HEATHER, The Pantagraph
WISTA JEANNE JOHNSON
May 2, 2022
CAITLIN SCHMIDT, Arizona Daily Star
Online Network Matches Inmates with Services After Release, Similar to a Dating Site. March 5, 2022
ADILIA WATSON, The Imprint
Calls to Roll Back Raise the Age Laws Reach NY Statehouse, But Find Little Traction [Part 1] The Imprint, March 8, 2022
First in a two-part examination of the Raise the Age Law in New York.
Raising The Age of Criminal Prosecution: How Does it Serve Youth and The Public? [Part 2], The Imprint, March 10, 2022
WEBINAR RECORDINGS
For a complete list of Speakers and their bios please click here.
MARCH 3
SESSION ONE – DOES REFORM HAVE A FUTURE?
(1:27:33)
Jamila Hodge, Executive Director, Equal Justice USA; Michael Nutter, former Mayor Philadelphia; Insha Rahman, VP, Advocacy and Partnerships, Vera Institute of Justice. MODERATOR: Elizabeth Glazer, former NYC Justice Advisor
SESSION TWO – CRIME TRENDS 2021-2022
(1:21:51)
Alfred Blumstein, Erik Jonsson University Professor of Urban Systems Emeritus, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University; Richard Rosenfeld, Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri /St. Louis; Julia Schleimer, University of California-Davis Violence Prevention Research Program;
MODERATOR: Stephen Handelman, Director, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
SESSION THREE CORRECTIONS AND THE PANDEMIC
(1:32:25)
Jennifer Brobst, Southern Illinois University School of Law; Alex Piquero, Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Miami ; Eric Reinhart, Lead Researcher, Data and Evidence for Justice Reform, The World Bank Research Group; John Wetzel, Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections (2011-2021);
MODERATOR: Maurice Possley, Journalism Coordinator, Center on Media, Crime and Justice.
SESSION FOUR – BAILING OUT?
(1:11:22)
Satana Deberry,District Attorney, Durham, NC; Michael Rempel, Director, Data Collaborative, John Jay College; Cindy Redcross, Director, Strategic Planning and Analytics, Bronx County (NY) District Attorney’s Office;
MODERATOR: Stephen Handelman, Director, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
SESSION FIVE – PROSECUTOR MISCONDUCT
(1:29:03)
Mark Fondacaro, former Director, Doctoral Training Program in Psychology & Law at John Jay College; Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney; Miriam Krinsky, Director, Fair and Just Prosecution; Ross Miller, Associate Director, Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School;
MODERATOR: John Hollway, Director, Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
SESSION SIX – REIMAGINING JUDGES
(29:52)
The Hon. Nancy Gertner, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Law School; U.S. District Judge for the District of Massachusetts (ret);
DISCUSSANT: Stephen Handelman, Director, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
MARCH 4
SESSION SEVEN – GUN VIOLENCE
(1:26:40)
T. Markus Funk, University of Colorado School of Law; Kristen Rand, Legislative Director, Violence Policy Center; Joseph B. Richardson, Jr., The Joel and Kim Feller Professor of African-American Studies, University of Maryland;
MODERATOR: Maurice Possley, Journalism Coordinator, Center on Media, Crime and Justice
SESSION EIGHT – POLICE: BEYOND DEFUNDING
(1:18:21)
Rosie Rivera, Sheriff, Salt Lake County (Utah); Elsie Scott, Director, Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public; Policy Center, Howard University; Chuck Wexler, Director, Police Executive Research Forum;
MODERATOR: Nancy La Vigne, Director, Task Force on Policing, Council on Criminal Justice.
SESSION NINE – MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
(1:29:31)
Dr. Mary Alice Conroy, Sam Houston State University; Dr. Eric Hickey, Walden University; Hanna Shoshanny, NY Criminal Defense Attorney; Dr. Patricia Zapf, past President, American Psychology- Law Society;
MODERATOR: Stephen Handelman, Director, Center on Media, Crime and Justice.
SESSION TEN(A) – CONVERSATION WITH SHYTIERRA GASTON
(29:26)
Will increasing diversity in police forces reduce misconduct?
Shytierra Gaston, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Georgia State University;
DISCUSSANT: Stephen Handelman, CMCJ
SESSION TEN (B) – CONVERSATION WITH EMILY GALVIN-ALMANZA
(31:55)
Can investment in more public defenders increase public safety?
Emily Galvin-Almanza, founder, Partners for Peace
DISCUSSANT: Maurice Possley, CMCJ
PANEL 11 – STATE (S) OF REFORM
(1:35:39)
Rebecca Brown, Director of Policy, The Innocence Project; Brian Egolf, Speaker of the House, New Mexico; Robert Peters, Chair, Public Safety Committee, State Senate, Illinois; Tenisha Yancey, State Representative, Michigan
MODERATOR: Maurice Possley, Journalism Coordinator, Center on Media, Crime and Justice.
PANEL 12 – TRAILBLAZER, H.F. GUGGENHEIM PRIZEWINNERS, ROUNDTABLE
(1:44:57)
Announcement of winners of the 2021 H.F. Guggenheim prizes for excellence in criminal justice journalism. Introduction of this year’s Trailblazer Award winner, David Inocencio, founder of “The Beat Within” San Francisco prison writers workshop and, through him, prison writers nationwide, who are making a huge difference in perceptions of the justice system.
Followed by Roundtable on “Challenges of Covering Justice”. Participants: 2022 Reporting Fellows, Members of The Beat Within workshop.