Justice for All:
Community Conversations on Crime and Imprisonment in the North Country
This event focuses on the core concept of justice: justice for those accused, justice for victims, justice for those convicted, justice for those returning to the free world after completing sentence – in short, justice for all in our community. This conference is designed to start and facilitate conversations across many sectors of our community, with the hope that new networks and solutions will be created.
Program
REGISTER HERE
Friday, October 18
7:00 pm “Speaking for Myself” Poetry Slam, with contributions by writers from the community, as well as poems submitted by writers who are incarcerated. An Opening Reception will follow.
Saturday, October 19
9:30 am Keynote Address
Falling Asleep in Your Own Narrative: Violence, Incarceration & Reform, R. Dwayne Betts, who served nine years in prison as a young adult, and who is now a poet, lawyer, and author of A Question of Freedom: Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison
11:00 am – 4:00 pm Conversations Sessions
Topic Areas: Roots of Incarceration, Administration of Justice, Life on the Inside, Alternatives to Incarceration, Returning to Life on the Outside
First session: 11:00 am – 12 noon
1-A. The Push Factors Toward Incarceration: Exploring the Intersection of Poverty, Unemployment, Race, Housing, Education, and Family Instability with Incarceration
John Tenbusch, St. Lawrence County Planning Office, Poor People’s Campaign; Bill Doyle, Seaway Valley Prevention Council
1-B. A Conversation about Working Behind Prison Walls
Rivka Rocchio, SUNY Potsdam; Kay DePerno, retired correctional employee; Arliene Oey, retired prison counselor; Peggy Mooers, retired prison educator
1-C. Programs Offered by State and County Correctional Facilities: Their Benefits to Both Those Who Are Incarcerated and Society
Rodney Votra: St Lawrence Correctional Facility; Robert Brabant, Riverview Correctional Facility; Chuck Smith, Riverview Correctional Facility
1-D. Drug Court: Saving Lives by Helping People Break the Cycle of Addiction, Crime, and Imprisonment
Deborah Miller, St. Lawrence County Judicial Diversion Program, Ogdensburg City Drug Treatment Court
1-E. Reducing Recidivism after Release from Prison
Margaret Kent Bass, Vermont Corrections; Nancy Lewis: SUNY Potsdam
Lunch: 12 noon – 1:15 pm (free for all who pre-register)
Second Session: 1:15 – 2:15 pm
2-A. Addiction: A Pathway to Prison? How Addiction Can Lead to Incarceration, and How Treatment Might Provide a Different Path
Carolyn White, Addiction Counselor; Sara Hutcheson: Reachout Mobile Crisis Counselor; Bill Doyle, Seaway Valley Prevention Council
2-B. A Conversation on Police/ Community Relationships
James Santimaw: Chief, Canton Village Police
2-C. Support Services by Community Members: A Conversation about Ways Communities Can Support Those Who Are Incarcerated
Jane Haugh, Woke the North Country; Rivka Rocchio: SUNY Potsdam; Mary Jones, St Lawrence Valley Hospice
2-D. Alternatives to Incarceration: Judicial Responses to Crime (e.g., Probation, Community Service, Work Release, Drug Court)
Rosemary Philips, Canton Town Judge
2-E. Next Steps: Community Resources for Reintegrating into Families and Communities After Release from Prison
Chris Rediehs, Commissioner, St. Lawrence County Social Services; Jeff Reifensnyder, Executive Director, Massena Independent Living Center
Third Session: 2:45 – 3:45 pm
3-A. Derailing the “School-to-Prison Pipeline”: Responding to School Behavior
Joann Chambers, Superintendent, Potsdam Central Schools; Mike Dinan: Counselor, Potsdam High School
3-B. From Arrest to Sentencing: How Judicial Practices (e.g., Cash Bail, Plea Bargains, and Other Pathways) Impact Outcomes and Convictions
Nicole Duve, County Attorney, St Lawrence Courts; Rosemary Philips, Canton Town Judge
3-C. Maintaining Family and Community Relationships While in Prison
Jane Haugh, Woke the North Country; Donna Clark, Volunteer Yoga Instructor, St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility
3-D. Restorative Justice: A Conversation about How Restorative Practices are Being Used on Akwesasne and in Vermont
Margaret Kent Bass, Vermont Corrections; Rena Smoke, Akwesasne Community Justice
3-E. After Prison: A Conversation about the Challenges Facing Those Who Are Working to Regain Full Citizen Status after Release
Kathleen Stein, League of Women Voters; Till Fritzschling, Re-entry Support Work
4:00 – 5:00 pm Networking Session
Sunday, October 20
10:30 am Worship Service
Criminal Justice as a Critical Issue in Our Community Today, Margaret Kent Bass
REGISTER HERE
For more information about the conference or the Social Justice Initiative, please contact us at sji@uucantonny.org