THE FEAR OF TOO MUCH JUSTICE | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Jan 11, 2024 6:00 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Jan 11, 2024 6:00 pm
450K
Almost 70 years ago Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote there ''can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.” In The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts, legendary death penalty defense attorney Stephen Bright and legal scholar James Kwak show the myriad ways the US criminal legal system fails to live up to this ideal of fairness:
Bright and Kwak also see the promise of meaningful change on the horizon. They point to jurisdictions that have abandoned the death penalty and see a future where it will remain in only the most ardent holdouts; to states that require full disclosure of police and prosecution files; to public defender offices that provide people accused of crimes with zealous representation; to courts that have recognized racial discrimination and adopted remedies to prevent it; to places have reduced the use of cash bail and stopped imposing fines and fees on people who cannot afford them; and to a comprehensive mental health center that is an alternative to jail.
Stephen B. Bright and Kristin Henning are joining us on the Busboys stage to give a timely and trenchant look at the numerous injustices occurring in criminal courts today and a practical look at how they can be corrected to create a brighter and more equitable future. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event. Stephen will be signing The Fear of Too Much Justice and Kristin will be signing The Rage of Innocence following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of THE FEAR OF TOO MUCH JUSTICE AND THE RAGE OF INNOCENCE will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and will NOT be livestreamed.
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Stephen B. Bright was the longtime director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, where he tried death penalty cases before juries in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, and argued cases before state and federal appellate courts, including four capital cases before the United States Supreme Court.
He has taught at Yale Law School since 1993 and is also a visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1998. His work has been the subject of Proximity to Death (William S. McFeely, 1999), Finding Life on Death Row (Katya Lezin, 1999), and Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All (Robert L. Tsai, to be published by W.W. Norton & Co. in March 2024), and a film, “Fighting for Life in the Death Belt” (Adam Elend & Jeff Marks, 2005).
Kristin Henning is a nationally recognized advocate, author, trainer, and consultant on the intersection of race, adolescence, and policing in communities of color. She is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at the Georgetown University Law Center and was previously the Lead Attorney of the Juvenile Unit of the D.C. Public Defender Service. Kris has been representing youth accused of crime for more than twenty-six years and is the co-founder of a number of initiatives to combat racial inequities in the juvenile and criminal legal systems, including the Ambassadors for Racial Justice program and a Racial Justice Toolkit for defenders. Kris also trains state actors across the country on the impact of racial bias in the courts and the traumatic effects of police contact and surveillance.
Professor Henning has received many awards including a 2023 Embracing the Legacy Award from the RFK Community Alliance, a 2022 Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women, and the 2021 Juvenile Leadership Prize from the Juvenile Law Center. She has published many articles advocating for reform in the juvenile legal system, and her recent book, The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth (Penguin Random House), was featured on the front page of the New York Times Book Review and received rave reviews in the Washington Post. The book was awarded a 2022 Media for a Just Society Award by Evident Change and the 2022 Social Justice Advocacy Award from the In the Margins Book Awards Committee.
