News & Features

The William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law will focus its 2007 symposium on "Women and Prisons." On Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, the William & Mary Law School will host a symposium titled “Women and Prisons.” The symposium is sponsored by the William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law and will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Law School’s McGlothlin Courtroom. The symposium is open to the public and there is no registration fee. Pre-registration is helpful and is available by calling the Journal office at 757-221-3799 or by email (alsimp@wm.edu).

The symposium will explore a variety of issues including, for example, a human rights framework for prison reform, how women’s incarceration affect their families, and the effect of post 9/11 security concerns and anti-immigration policies on incarcerated Latina women and their families. The event’s goal is to help provide a voice to women who suffer silently in prisons and to explore what can be done to ensure a better prison system.

Speakers will include:

Elizabeth Alexander, Director of the National Prison Project of the ACLU. Ms. Alexander has argued several major prisoners' rights cases before the Supreme Court, including Farmer v. Brennan, Wilson v. Seiter, and Lewis v. Case, and has testified before Congress on the subject of health care within the prison system. Topic: how women’s incarceration affects their families

Jenni Gainsborough, Director of the Washington office of Penal Reform International. Ms. Gainsborough has worked previously with The Sentencing Project and the National Prison Project of the ACLU. Topic: “The Reality of Prison for Women Worldwide and the Implications of a Human Rights Framework for Prison Reform”

Sandra Guerra Thompson, Law Foundation Professor and Criminal Justice Institute Director, University of Houston Law Center. Professor Thompson has authored numerous articles, focusing especially on drug sentencing, asset forfeiture and federal law enforcement. She is a former Chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Association of American Law Schools. Topic: “Latinas and Their Families in Detention: Caught in the Web of Post 9/11 National Security Concerns and Anti-Immigration Policies”

Kim White, Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic Region, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Ms. White joined the Bureau of Prisons in 1984 and has since held a variety of positions including Warden at FCI Danbury, CT, and Warden at FCI Fairton, NJ. Topic: to be announced.

William & Mary Law School contact: Jaime Welch-Donahue, 757-221-1840 (lawcom@wm.edu)