Visions of Justice VII: Girl Trouble
To see past Visions of Justice forums, go here.
April 21, 2006

            More than one hundred people came together for the seventh annual Visions of Justice forum on April 21, 2006 at University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall.  This event, co-sponsored by SURJ, the Delaware Center for Justice, the League of Women Voters, and the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence featured the award-winning documentary, Girl Trouble. The film details the lives of three girls caught up in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system and demonstrates the difficulty the girls have “getting out of the system.”  (For more information about the film visit: www.girltrouble.org.) 

Chief Judge Chandlee Kuhn, Nancy Pearsall and Paulette Sullivan Moore discuss the film and how it relates to girls in Delaware's juvenile justice system.

Co-producer and director, Lexi Leban, introduced the film.   After volunteering with the Center for Young Women’s Development in San Francisco, she decided to film a year in the life of three of the girls she met at the center.  After four years of filming, Girl Trouble was completed in 2004.  Since its introduction, the film has won numerous awards and has been used as a vehicle for public education about girls in the juvenile justice system.   

            After the film, a panel of distinguished Delaware speakers discussed how the film related to the experiences of girls in Delaware and stressed the need for gender-specific programming in Delaware’s juvenile justice system.  The panel included:  The Honorable Chandlee J. Kuhn, Chief Judge of Family Court; Nancy Pearsall, Director of Youth Rehabilitative Services for the Department of Children, Youth and their Families; and, Paulette Sullivan Moore, Policy Coordinator for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence.             

Visions of Justice VI
Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System:
Opportunities for Change
April 22, 2005

             On Friday, April 22, 2005, SURJ and the Delaware Center for Justice held the sixth annual Visions of Justice forum.  This year, the event held at the University of Delaware's Clayton Hall, attracted around a hundred people.  This forum, moderated by Jim Lafferty of the Mental Health Association of Delaware, featured five speakers who spoke in depth about those who have mental health problems in the criminal justice system.  These speakers offered both a national and a local perspective on this important issue. 

Featured speaker, Fred C. Osher, MD, Director of the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice, and Public Policy, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, gave a thought-provoking presentation about national trends relating to this issue, and suggested several possible avenues for change.

            Susan McLaughlin, Director of the Treatment Access Center (TASC) and Judge Joseph F. Flinkinger, III, Mental Health Court Judge gave a joint presentation about the New Castle County Mental Health Court Pilot Program.

             Jeremy McEntyre and Don Napoli, from First Correctional Medical, filled in for Dr. Martha Boston, who had been scheduled to speak, but was not able to make it to the forum.  McEntyre and Napoli discussed the services that inmates with mental health illness receive in prison.  They described the process by which inmates are identified as needing mental health treatment, and shared some thoughts about how to improve the reentry process for these men and women.

The floor was then opened for a panel discussion. 

To see pictures from the event, click here.

To see Dr. Osher's excellent PowerPoint presentation, click here.

To read the complete minutes of the event, go here.

To see the original invitation for the event, go here.

League Day in Dover
"The Woman in Prison - Transition Back to Society?"
March 16, 2005

A large crowd gathered at the Sheraton in Dover on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 to participate in the League of Women Voters of Delaware’s Annual Legislative Day entitled “The Woman in Prison—Transition Back to Society?”.  This forum, put together by the LWV Justice Committee was dedicated to the memory of Phyllis Laffey, chair of the LWV Justice Committee and active contributing member of SURJ, and its Policy Committee. The event brought together advocates, legislators, representatives from the Department of Corrections, and policymakers throughout the state, for an opportunity of education and dialogue about the women in Delaware’s criminal justice system, the current needs at the Women’s prison and the obstacles to successful reentry upon release from prison. 

Marlene Lichtenstadter, former Chairperson and Director of the Delaware Board of Parole and a member of SURJ’s Board of Directors, moderated the event.  Warden Patrick Ryan, Superintendent of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI) and Delaware Superior Court Judge Susan Del Pesco were the featured presenters.

            Warden Ryan outlined the profile of the average inmate at BWCI and spoke about the many needs at BWCI; chief among them the critical staffing shortage that plagues the entire Department of Correction, which consequently prohibits the opening of the Women’s Work Release Center at BWCI that was built in July.

            Judge Del Pesco presented details about her three recommendations for reform at BWCI: opening up the Women’s Work Release Center; building a nursery for pregnant inmates; and providing a space for worship, such as the other prisons have in this state.  Judge Del Pesco showed a short film clip about a successful nursery program in the state of New York, and provided many convincing arguments for the creation of a nursery in BWCI. 

            After the presentations the audience was given the chance to ask the presenters questions.  Two audience members asked about the repeal of mandatory minimum drug sentences, which was greeted by applause from many in the audience. 

            To read more about the League Day event click here.

            To see the handout prepared by the League of Women Voters of Delaware, go here.

             To visit the League of Women Voters of Delaware's site, click here.

             To learn more about how mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws affect women and children, go here.

SURJ Goes On the Road: Brings Current News to Kent and Sussex Counties About Substance Abuse and Incarceration

Despite severe weather during both downstate SURJ membership forums, the events attracted many familiar and new faces. The Sussex County membership meeting of

February 16, 2005 and the Kent County meeting of February 25, 2005 (co-sponsored with the ACLU of Delaware and the League of Women Voters of Delaware) updated members about SURJ’s efforts to repeal mandatory minimum drug sentences and featured experts who spoke about substance abuse treatment and re-entry programs, furthering the case for better use of alternatives for incarceration. We also explored the next steps needed to achieve our goals. 

In Sussex County:

More than 30 SURJ members gathered at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown to hear the latest from SURJ. Reverend Earl Beshears of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church welcomed everyone and spoke about the 25 years he worked in the Maryland Correctional system—for many of those years as a warden.                              

Featured presenter William DeLauder, Ph.D., past President of Delaware State University, made a strong case for the repeal of mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws. Bruce Lorenz, the Director of Thresholds, Inc. spoke to the group about his experience working with drug offenders and how that work has changed over the years. Barbara Carter, the Director of The Way Home, explained how important it was to overcome the many barriers to successful reentry faced by newly released ex-offenders. 

Josh Templet, Executive Director of SURJ, outlined the current problems of excessive corrections expenditures and prison crowding. He asked for the audience’s support in making their legislators aware of these problems and the need for criminal justice reform. He did this again at the event in Kent County, held at the Delaware Public Archives Building in Dover.    Read on...

  "What can we do to maximize human potential?",
                        DeLauder asked.

In Kent County:

Ellen Wasfi, President of the League of Women Voters of Greater Dover, and Phyllis Levitt, President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, opened the “Smart Sentencing: Incarceration and Substance Abuse” forum by addressing why their organizations support SURJ’s work and endorse SURJ’s efforts to repeal mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws. Cathy McKay, President and CEO of Connections, CSP, Inc. talked about the proven effectiveness of substance abuse treatment in deterring crime, and the need for greater resource allocation to community based treatment programs. Marian Harris, Executive Director and Founder of the House of PRIDE, shared information about her organization and gave examples about why the House of PRIDE is so effective in helping offenders reenter the community.   

"Mandatory minimum drug sentencing
laws are the opposite of due process,"                               Read on...
said Levitt, "because they sentence
citizens without looking at individual
circumstances."  

Annual Board of Trustees Meeting a Success

Twenty SURJ Trustees gathered on Friday, December 3, 2004 at the Community Service Building in Wilmington for the Annual Board of Trustees meeting. Chair Dale Wolf greeted attendees and oversaw the event. 

Policy Committee Chair Marlene Lichtenstadter and Executive Director Josh Templet shared with the Board the successes of last year and reviewed SURJ’s 2005 agenda. At the top of the list is SURJ’s 2005 priority: repealing Delaware’s mandatory minimum drug laws and returning sentencing discretion to our outstanding judiciary.  SURJ will also continue its support of other sentencing reforms, as well as its promotion of the successful reentry of ex-offenders into the community and the availability of high-quality substance abuse and mental health treatment, both in our prisons and in our community.

Guest Speaker Liane Sorenson, State Senator and SURJ Trustee, spoke about her work with the Council of State Governments as Vice Chair of its Criminal Justice Board. She stated her belief that the work SURJ and similar organizations around the country are doing to reform the criminal justice system is extremely critical. She then cited work being done on a national level through the Council of State Governments to assist policymakers, elected officials, criminal justice and mental health professionals, and others in improving mental health in the criminal justice system and successful offender re-entry into the community.

Canon Lloyd Casson, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, offered a warm closing. He spoke of the vital work that SURJ is doing, and the ways in which the Board of Trustees can assist SURJ’s efforts: by recruiting new members, scheduling a Speakers’ Bureau presentation, and contacting state legislators.

SURJ would like to thank its Board of Trustees for their continued support.  Our Trustees’ networking in the community, service on SURJ committees, and financial support make possible SURJ’s efforts to improve Delaware’s criminal justice system.

Visions of Justice Forum Explores Ex-Offender Employment

On Friday, April 2, SURJ and the Delaware Center for Justice brought together  two experts on ex-offender employment, three of Delaware's cabinet members, and over 100 members of the community at its fifth Visions of Justice public forum. 

Click below to more info and photos.
More Details

Visions of Justice Forum with Mayor Baker
Draws over 150

More details

SURJ Unveils 2004-2006 Agenda for
Action at Annual Meeting

At its 2003 Annual Board of Trustee Meeting on Tuesday, December 9, SURJ unveiled its 2004-2006 Agenda for Action, outlining four strategies and dozens of specific action steps toward reforming Delaware's criminal justice system over the coming years.
More details

Progress and Goals Highlighted at SURJ Membership Convention 

Bill  DeLauder, SURJ board member and past president of Delaware State University, opens the convention

Convention info and pictures