Inaugural Decarceration and Re-entry Symposium
Restoring Hope and Rebuilding Lives
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American University Washington College of Law's Decarceration and Reentry clinic hosted its first symposium on October 6. The event united various stakeholders, including incarcerated individuals, advocates, lawyers, family members, and supporters. Professor Olinda Moyd, the clinic's director, led the organization.
The symposium featured two expert panels and began with a remarkable spoken word performance by Gene Downing, earning a standing ovation. The luncheon roundtable was a highlight, allowing attendees to hear directly impacted individuals' stories, some of whom had been represented by the clinic.
The first panel discussed decarceration efforts, including the perspective of Jon Anderson, chief of the Special Litigation Division of the Public Defender Service for DC, Destiny Fullwood '14, co-executive director of the Second Look Project, Warren Seay Jr., partner at Arent Fox Schiff, Brian Saccenti, Maryland Office Public Defender, and Lila Meadows, a law professor. Professor Margaret Barry, the clinic's founder, moderated.
“Decarceration is the effort to limit the number of people who are detained behind bars, either by limiting who is sent to prison in the first place or creating avenues for release for persons detained there,” Moyd said, in introducing the panel.
The panelists examined current incarceration policies and their impact on the DC-Maryland-Virginia region.
“DC has more people who have been in prison for more than a decade than any other state,” said Anderson. “Legislations such as Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, Second Look Amendment Act, Maryland’s Justice Re-investment Act and Compassionate Release all work to redirect the system towards releasing people from incarceration.”
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The symposium also provided a platform for those with firsthand experience with the criminal legal system. In the roundtable luncheon moderated by Professor Moyd, Sean Andrews, Willie Hamilton, Donald Bovello, and Johnisha Knight emphasized the significance of second chances and underscored the idea that individuals should not be defined by their past actions.
“I don’t believe in second chances; I believe in chances,” said Hamilton, who was incarcerated for over 30 years after being sent away at 17 years old and released under Maryland’s Justice Reinvestment Act with the help of the clinic. “We have people who have disappeared into cages and are forgotten with no one to hear their voices. That is why advocacy for those who have been silenced is important,” Hamilton said.
The final panel focused on re-entry, featuring experts Marsha Briley, Lamont Carey, Shareese Kess, Chiquisha Robinson, and Eric Weaver, who argued how the criminal legal system disproportionately impacts communities of color and highlighted the need for tailored re-entry efforts.
Becky Feldman, the director of the Second Look Network at The Sentencing Project, concluded the event by calling for collective action and support for those incarcerated. “To push the needle for freedom of those incarcerated, we need to show up for court and political hearings and each other," she said. “We need to keep amplifying each other's stories.”
The symposium showcased American University Washington College of Law's commitment to justice and provided a platform for powerful conversations on the impact of incarceration and the resilience of those who endure it.
See more photos of the event here.
~Story by Hasini Jayawardena.