The Canadian Prison Law Association hosted a conference “Rights, Remedies and Decarceration” on October 4-6, 2024 at the University of British Columbia, with the generous assistance of the Law Foundation of British Columbia. The program to the conference can be accessed here.
105 people attended in person with 112 attending online for a total of 217 attendees. The conference brought together lawyers, scholars, students, community advocates, and people with lived experience of incarceration to share knowledge and discuss legal strategies for promoting decarceration and prisoners’ rights.
There were 13 people with lived experience of incarceration who attended the conference in person. One panel was on life sentences and included Yvonne Johnson, Nyki Kish and Sheri Pranteau, who shared their analysis, research and experiences of living with a life sentence on parole. Another panel entitled “Challenging Anti-Black Racism in Prison and Parole” included Renford Farrier, who spoke about his experiences in prison and his release on parole, and Svens Telemaque who spoke about his work in prison reform and with the DESTA Black Community Network’s Escorted Temporary Absence Program.
canadian prison law association