Race, Poverty and Criminal Justice
Stephen Bright, Professor at Yale Law School and president of the Southern Center for Human Rights, will speak at Berea College October 20, 2016, at 3:00pm, in Phelps Stokes Chapel. From debtors’ prisons to the death penalty, race and poverty influence outcomes in U.S. Criminal Courts. Bright’s remarks will examine how sentences imposed by courts can destroy people and communities and he will chart hope for the future. This event is free and open to the public.
Bright is a graduate of University of Kentucky, earning both his B.A and his J.D. there. As a professor, Bright has taught courses on criminal law and capital punishment at Harvard, the University of Chicago, Emory, Georgetown, Northeastern, and Yale where he is currently a visiting lecturer. As a lawyer, Prof. Bright has represented a wide variety of cases such as, people facing the death penalty, and prisoners in challenges to inhumane conditions. Aside from his work as a professor and lawyer, Bright has testified before committees of both the U.S Senate and House of Representatives. Bright is also president of the Southern Center for Human Rights, an organization that tackles issues such as human rights in the criminal justice and prison system.
The convocation events, which are provided to both the campus and public communities, are a significant part of a student’s educational experience at Berea College. See https://legacy.berea.edu/convocations/ for the schedule of all convocations this academic year. All convocations are free and open to the public.