Women and the Justice System Focus of Oct. 22 UAB-AWRN Conference

Experts in criminology, public policy and others will discuss the latest research on women and the justice system at a conference on Thursday, Oct. 22, on the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus.

 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Experts in criminology, public policy and others will discuss the latest research on women and the justice system at a conference this week on the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) campus.

The conference, "Lock-Down: Reducing Women's Imprisonment in Alabama," will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 at Heritage Hall, Room 102, 1401 University Blvd.

The Alabama Women's Resource Network (AWRN), along with the UAB Department of Justice Sciences, the UAB Center for Urban Affairs and the UAB Women's Studies Program are sponsors for the event.

Presenters will examine the impact of Alabama's justice system on women by discussing issues related to overcrowding in women's prisons, discrimination in sentencing and parole and other related topics.

Panelists will include UAB Associate Professor of Criminology, Kathyrn D. Morgan, Ph.D., who will present an examination of the parole process in Alabama, the factors that influence decisions made by the Alabama Pardons and Parole Board and the effects the parole process could have on women inmates.

Morgan is a former probation officer. Her research interests include corrections, probation and parole, correction policy and liability issues facing probation and parole officers.

Other panelists will include Ralph Hendrix, program manager for UAB Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities; Cheryl Sabel, independent consultant with Southern Education Foundation; Leslie Hales, director of Children's Aid Society Project Independence Program; Eddie Lancaster, correctional re-entry coordinator for the Alabama Department of Corrections; and Jessica Hardy, director of the Office of Women's Health for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

According to the AWRN, between 1977 and 2004 Alabama's female prison population grew by 645 percent. The AWRN mission is to reduce the numbers of women in prison in the state by promoting investment in neighborhood resources and community-based alternatives to prison.

About UAB

Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center and the state of Alabama's largest employer. For more information, please visit www.uab.edu.