Feb 8, 2006
Feb 8, 2006
School of Law Events and Traditions

Why is America obsessed with punishment? Do crime victims crave revenge or the remorse of their offender? Is rehabilitation, recovery, or reform possible? Why should intimate crimes-family or domestic violence-be treated differently from other crimes?

Come hear ex-offenders, victims, judges, treatment experts, and scholars challenge popular assumptions about crime and how to address this problem at a series of panel discussions: “Bad to the Bone?-Rethinking Offender Recovery and Rehabilitation,” (2/16); “Tell Me What a Victim Looks Like-The Problem with a One-Treatment-Fits-All Approach to Intimate Abuse,” (3/2); and “Minding the Gap-What are the Holes in Services for Intimate Abuse Victims and Offenders and How Can We Close Them?” (3/29). The three panels will consolidate emerging conversations on how all parties affected by crime-victims, prisoners, family, and community members-are advocating for radically new approaches to recognizing and recovering from violence.

Each panel will be moderated by Dr. Linda G. Mills, author of the controversial Insult to Injury: Rethinking Our Responses to Intimate Abuse (Princeton, 2003). Dr. Mills is the founder of CVR, a research center dedicated to advancing awareness of the causes of violence and alternative interventions.

All events are free and open to the public call (212) 998-6849 for more information.

Bad to the Bone?—Rethinking Offender Recovery and Rehabilitation
Thursday, February 16, 2006
6:30 - 8:30 p.m., NYU’s Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Rm 210
Panelists:

  • Richard A. Bierschbach is an assistant professor of law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City and has written on alternative sentencing and the role of remorse and apology in the rehabilitation of offenders.
  • David Lewis spent 20 years in California prisons on drug and armed robbery charges before he discovered how to break the cycle of drugs, crime, and violence that held him. In 1992, he co-founded Free At Last, a community non-profit devoted to stopping drug addiction and the spread of HIV/AIDS in East Palo Alto, California.
  • Resmaa Menakem is director of counseling programs at Tubman Family Alliance, one of the largest centers for family violence services and prevention programs in the country and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Tell Me What a Victim Looks Like—The Problem with a One-Treatment-Fits-All Approach to Intimate Abuse
Thursday, March 2, 2006
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., NYU’s Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Rm 210
Panelists:

  • Brenda Aris, a survivor of intimate abuse, spent 11 years in prison for shooting her sleeping husband before she was granted clemency. She is now an assistant manager of Ganahl Lumber in southern California.
  • Dr. Samuel Aymer is one of few private practice therapists who offer counseling to abusive couples. He practices in New York City.
  • Stanley Green is a victims’ advocate for Stop Abuse For Everyone, Inc. (SAFE) in Walla Walla, Washington, and a survivor of intimate abuse by his wife.

Minding the Gap—What are the Holes in Services for Intimate Abuse Victims and Offenders and How Can We Close Them?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
5:30 - 8:30 p.m., NYU’s Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Greenberg Lounge
Panelists:

  • Dr. Gale Burford is professor of social work at the University of Vermont and evaluates, trains, and consults in the area of family-centered practice in child welfare and youth justice, particularly in domestic violence situations.
  • Gwen Chandler Rhivers is a pioneer of restorative justice training and practice in Minnesota.
  • Mary Helen Maley is a judge in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, and is currently involved in a restorative justice treatment pilot program for intimate abuse.
  • James and Kate M. are founders of Violence Anonymous.
  • Dr. Murray Straus is professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, with an emphasis on the causes and consequences of family violence.

All panels will be held at NYU’s Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, between MacDougal and Sullivan Streets, one block east of the West Fourth Subway Station. [Subway Lines: A, B, C, D, E, F, V (West 4th Street); N, R, W (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place)] Parking is available at Minetta Car Park on West Third Street.

Reporters interested in attending discussions should contact Elizabeth Fasolino at 212.998.6849 or elizabeth.fasolino@nyu.edu

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