Conference VideoReturn to index of conference videos These streaming videos require the free QuickTime player software from Apple Computer. Conference Session: Session VII—The Role of Citizens and Non-Profit Advocacy Organizations in Providing Oversight Speaker(s): Michael Mushlin, Professor, Pace Law School (Moderator) Date: Length: 77 minutes Description: This session considers whether oversight should necessarily be the responsibility of government agencies or whether NGOs and citizen groups can also provide effective oversight. Baroness Vivien Stern, a member of the British House of Lords, opens with a presentation about the role of Independent Monitoring Boards and the role of lay citizens with regard to correctional oversight in England. Although she recognizes limitations on the effectiveness of lay citizen groups, she praises members of such boards for their ordinary human empathy and ability to bring the values of the outside world into prisons. Panelists John Brickman and Jamie Fellner then discuss the role of NGOs that have the right of access to prisons, and the role of NGOs that do not have formal access rights. Merrick Bobb comments on his role as an independent lawyer who was appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to provide oversight of the Sheriff’s office. Kathleen Dennehy, the head of the Massachusetts prison agency, then offers insights she gained from working with appointed citizens advisory groups on efforts to reform the Massachusetts prison system. The statements made here represent the speakers' own thoughts. Neither the LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, nor any organization providing support for this effort necessarily endorses the views and statements included here. |
