The Brown, Goldstein & Levy Criminal Defense Section—Jacqui Cadman and Kobie Flowers —hosted a panel called, “Dismantling Mass Incarceration—An Authentic Discussion,” on January 27 as part of an event series aimed at solving social problems. It made for an evening of meaningful and compelling conversations exploring solutions to the United States’ 50-year Mass Incarceration problem. The discussion considered solutions from reform to abolition.
Georgetown Law Professor Abbe Smith moderated the panel, which included insights from two wrongly and formerly incarcerated people, a former public defender, and a former prosecutor. Troy Burner, who was wrongly incarcerated for over 24 years, and Vincent Delano Smith, who was wrongly incarcerated for over three years, provided solutions from abolition to reform. Premal Dharia, a former public defender and now Executive Director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration at Harvard Law School, addressed the tension of fighting against Mass Incarceration as a defense attorney in the flawed criminal legal system. She drew from thought leaders in Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change—a book she co-edited. Finally, Jamila Hodge, a former prosecutor and now Executive Director of Equal Justice USA, discussed the notion of a “recovering prosecutor” and provided solutions via a racial lens.
BGL hosted the event at Busboys and Poets—an iconic D.C. restaurant often described as a community space for writers, thinkers, and performers from America’s progressive social and political movements. Distinguished guests included exonerees, professors and students from local law schools, lawyers, activists, and people interested in inspiring social change.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
