OSI-Baltimore sponsored "Sentencing Reform," the first in a series of panel discussions on the findings of the American Bar Association's Kennedy Commission. Panelists examined the high rate of incarceration in the United States, the impact of sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentences, the importance of judicial discretion, and the disproportionate impact of incarceration on minorities.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy challenged the ABA to study the U.S. criminal justice system and to "help start a new public discussion about the prison system." Kennedy concluded that our "resources are misspent, our punishments too severe, our sentences too long." This three-panel forum series presents findings of the Kennedy Commission in order to start a "new public discussion" in Maryland.
Speakers
- Steve Saltzburg, Kennedy Commission Chair, George Washington School of Law
- Glenn Ivey, Prince George s County State s Attorney
- Jim Wyda, Federal Public Defender for Maryland
- Bill Missouri, Administrative Judge for Prince George s County and Seventh Judicial Circuit
- Andre Davis, U.S District Court for the District of Maryland, moderated.
- Doug Colbert, University of Maryland School of Law.
Watch a video recording of this forum on the University of Maryland Law School website.
Read more
Voices
Expensive and Immoral: The Case for Sentencing Reform
How can policy makers justify on moral grounds locking people in cages for decades when much shorter sentences would serve the same purpose?
Homicide Reduction
Q&A: How One Colombian City Is Tackling Violent Crime
Palmira, Colombia, is one of the most violent cities in the world. But a prevention program focusing on youth has reduced crime significantly—and earned it an international peace prize. The city’s mayor on what’s working.
In Remembrance
Lani Guinier’s Overlooked Education Legacy
The late Lani Guinier thought deeply about the intersection between education and criminal justice. Her leadership at Open Society helped pave the way to colleges across the country offering higher education to the incarcerated.