WNE School of Law to Present ‘Judging in the Era of Mass Incarceration’ on Oct. 21
SPRINGFIELD — The Western New England University (WNE) School of Law will host a talk by Judge Nancy Gertner titled “Incomplete Sentences: Judging in the Era of Mass Incarceration” on Thursday, Oct. 21 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. as part of the fall 2021 Clason Speaker Series. This free event will take place in the Law School Common and is open to the public.
“Incomplete Sentences” is about the dilemma of judging and applying laws with which a judge disagrees that effect grossly disproportionate sentences and have a profound, racially disparate impact. It is a story told firsthand by a sentencing judge, through her eyes, and through the eyes of some of the men she sentenced, whom she has interviewed for this book.
Gertner was appointed to the federal bench for the District of Massachusetts in 1994 and served until her retirement in 2011. She is also the co-author of “The Law of Juries” and author of “In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate,” her 2011 autobiography.
The Clason Speaker Series presents expert lectures to the School of Law. The series is named after Charles Clason, a prominent local attorney and member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who held the position of dean of the WNE School of Law from 1954 to 1970. Today, the purpose of the Charles and Emma Clason Endowment Fund is to host speakers who will enhance the academic environment of the School of Law and the university.
