University of Bristol, Queens Building, Room 1.8

A joint event hosted by Bristol Think, the Howard League for Penal Reform and Bristol Left will be bringing together a panel of four to debate whether we should be fighting for prison reform or prison abolition. Speakers will include those involved in prison abolition and prison reform activism. It will take place Thursday 3rd December in Queens Building at the University of Bristol.

Invited speakers include:
– An organiser in Bristol Anarchist Cross
– An organiser in the Empty Cages Collective
– Michael Naughton – Senior lecturer in Sociology and Law at the University of Bristol addressing issues in crime, justice and specifically the wrongful conviction of the innocent (https://twitter.com/DrMNaughton)
– Final speaker tbc…

On the panel we will be looking at questions:
What is wrong with the prison system?
What is wrong with the criminal justice system?
Is the prison system actually tackling harmful behaviour in our society? And if not, why not?
Does prison work help to “rehabilitate” prisoners or is it a form of forced labour?
Should we abolish prisons or should we reform them?
What alternatives are there to prisons?
What do we do about the really dagerous people?
And we will be taking questions and points from those in the audience, in what will hopefully lead into a more open discussion.

For anyone wishing to inform themselves a bit more about the UK prison system and about prison abolition and reform here are some things to get you started:
http://www.howardleague.org/weekly-prison-watch/
http://www.prisonabolition.org/new-article-prison-industrial-complex-occupied-times/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtoy0uHsn9Y (Juliet Lyons on the need for prison reform)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4WSHvZetkw (Reina Gossett on prison abolition and what about the really dangerous people)

ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME!!!

See the facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1527787087537835